Minions: The Rise of GRU  ★★★

IF YOU had told me a year ago that Jean Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren and Danny Trejo would be in an animated kids’ movie I would have laughed.

Last week I did actually laugh with all three B Grade, menacing action heroes providing their voices to Minions: The Rise of Gru.

Their characters are among the members of a super-villain team called the Vicious 6.

After turning on their boss, Wild Knuckle, the remaining five are holding auditions for a new member.

Cue Despicable Me villain Gru who is determined to beat all other candidates, even though he’s only aged 11.

Yep, this is Gru’s origins story taking place in the 1970s when he decided from an early age to become evil for a career and first hired the lunatic minions to be his servants.

This xxx film in the popular franchise will no doubt be another massive hit, barely taking a breath as it fires off the verbal and visual gags.

There are lots of adult nods to popular culture and cinema of the time and placing GRU and his minions in this specific time capsule is a clever idea.

Yes there is barely a quiet moment in the film and some of the voice cast don’t have a lot to do, but Steve Carrell again provides a star turn.

Kids make for a great cinema audience provided the film is capable of holding their attention throughout.

At my preview screening there was less movement than at many predominantly adult showings.

It even held the attention of my three-year-old grandson for almost the entire run-time. Now that’s an achievement in anyone’s language.