The Complete Opposite of the First Movie...

You've summed up my opinions pretty well...although I did find DM2 enjoyable, just not as good as DM1.

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"I'm sorry, but.." is a self-contained lie.

Not as good as 1 but good. I was waiting for Gru to say "Light Bulb...." and Dr. Nefario was too absent in the movie.

But I liked it. Didn't really like the villain much. He wasn't as funny as DM 1's villain.


... End of line.

It was still good, but it was just far too quickly paced. There was no time for the audience to really, really enjoy it.

You hit the nail right on the head, particularly the villain (who wasn't interesting, sadly) and the relationship. I hate the very ending too, so cliche!! I thought at first it would be a twist on spy films with the initial set-up and thought it would be an interesting arc for Gru, as a contrast to his role as a villain.

The son disappearing is a severe plot hole. It would have been interesting if he betrayed his father and was accepted by Gru. The minions were the most interesting thing about this movie and the mystery of their disappearances was the only thing that kept me watching after a while.

I was pleasantly surprised by the first film. I was sad to be disappointed by this one.

"blatantly shoehorned in heteronormative relationship"

"Heteronormative"? Seriously?

Y'know, I have to agree. I didn't hate it. But as I've said, I found DM2 extremely predictable; there were no surprises for me. It was formulaic. Even so, it managed to be hilarious...yet the nonstop comedy was pretty much the only thing that kept me interested. That, and a little bit of the emotional situation regarding Gru and the girls, Nefario, Lucy, etc. After seeing it, I don't quite even remember what was so funny about it--I think just a lot of zippy one-liners, rapidfire sight gags, and assorted other little jokes. It's a bit hard to recall specifics, beyond the most basic plot points and scenes of primary importance.

Indeed, what the heck happened with the son? He was just there to allow Gru's overprotective parenting techniques to be played up for laughs? And El Macho, while not an altogether negative portrayal (being incredibly macho, after all), was another of the Spanish-speaking characters whose entire schtick revolves around his Spanish- or Hispanicness. Other than that, just a straightforward (goofy) super-villain...same with Lucy, whom I didn't find very compelling. Right near the beginning I could tell he was going to fall in love and marry her. Of course I didn't expect him to marry a guy to give the girls a second parent; they're not gonna go there yet...so the heteronormality wasn't what bothered me so much as the overall sort of 'meh' feeling that she left me with.
I know it's a caricaturish film that deliberately uses stereotypes to comic effect, but I still came away with criticisms and thought it could have been better.

And yes, I was aware that it would be heavy on the minions. Funny sidekicks are always popular, and make powerful marketing tools. Not that I'm complaining; gotta love the minions. They're not my *favorite* thing about DM, but I still think I'd even watch a film all about them.

"If you don't have anything nice to say...come sit by me!"

I've never seen a movie want you to laugh at it so hard as Despicable Me 2. It simply wants you to know that it is funny. Look at me, I'm funny! Laugh!

Hotel Transylvania started off that way, but then became funny after the first over-expositioned over-introductioned over-joked 15 minutes.

But I'm still waiting to laugh at DM2. I liked the first movie enough... it wasn't great. But this is schlockfest.

The awesome chip hat made me forget all about the extremely offensive anti-gay agenda this film had.