Minions: The Rise of Gru film review – lots more silly fun
Has the Minions concept run out of steam? This film suggests otherwise
This “thunderously powerful” film has caused considerable controversy in Australia, said Brian Viner in the Daily Mail, and no wonder. It explores one of the country’s most notorious mass shootings, of 35 people at Port Arthur, in Tasmania, in 1996. “Dramatising the Dunblane massacre would have the same effect here”; but the subject matter is handled so intelligently that I, for one, am glad to have seen the film. Caleb Landry Jones gives a “stunning performance” as the killer, Martin Bryant, who was 28 when he went on the rampage, and who is only ever referred to in the film as Nitram, the nickname he acquired at school (his own name backwards). The film takes a “chilling look” at how his family and the wider community failed to identify him as dangerous, and how he was able to buy enough guns “to sustain a medium-sized militia”. The whole thing is “superbly” done.
Nitram is too smart a film to show the massacre, said Kevin Maher in The Times: it cuts to credits “as the first bullets are fired”. Director Justin Kurzel’s focus is on the “bleak biographical tendrils that combined to make a mass murderer”, and he presents Bryant’s “cold and unforgiving mother” (Judy Davis) and his “weak, biddable father” (Anthony LaPaglia), as “the worst possible parents” for a child with a clear taste for sadism.
This is a “stark, difficult, but deeply reflective film”, said Clarisse Loughrey on The Independent. It asks “sincerely why we describe these crimes as incomprehensible”, even as “the same patterns unfold again and again”. The Port Arthur massacre led to a tightening of gun laws; but at the end of the film, we’re told no state is fully complying with them, raising the question: has Australia “really done what it needs to stop this from happening again?”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Novel 'bone collector' caterpillar wears its prey
Speed Read Hawaiian scientists discover a carnivorous caterpillar that decorates its shell with the body parts of dead insects
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Judge blocks key part of Trump's elections overhaul
Speed Read Colleen Kollar-Kotelly's decision temporarily bars federal officials from requiring Americans to prove they are citizens to register to vote
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Why is Crimea a sticking point between Russia and Ukraine?
Today's Big Question Questions over control of the Black Sea peninsula are stymying the peace process
By Joel Mathis, The Week US
-
Geri Halliwell-Horner shares her favourite books
The Week Recommends Former Spice Girl chooses works by Oscar Wilde, Maggie O'Farrell and Philippa Gregory
By The Week UK
-
6 peaceful homes in farm country
Feature Featuring a two-story solarium in California and a three-season screened porch in Wisconsin
By The Week US
-
Ghosts: a 'scorching' retelling of Ibsen's scandalous tale
The Week Recommends Gary Owen's modern revamp of the classic play is a 'cracker'
By The Week UK
-
Holy Cow: a charming 'micro-budget' film about Comté
The Week Recommends First-time director Louise Courvoisier elicits 'brilliant performances' from her non-professional cast
By The Week UK
-
The Story of Murder: a 'thoughtful' fictional retelling of a true crime story
The Week Recommends Hallie Rubenhold novel delivers belated justice to the victim of a 1910 London murder
By The Week UK
-
Film reviews: Sinners and The King of Kings
Feature Vampires lay siege to a Mississippi juke joint and an animated retelling of Jesus' life
By The Week US
-
Music reviews: Bon Iver, Valerie June, and The Waterboys
Feature "Sable, Fable," "Owls, Omens, and Oracles," "Life, Death, and Dennis Hopper"
By The Week US
-
Susan Page's 6 favorite books about historical figures who stood up to authority
Feature The USA Today's Washington bureau chief recommends works by Catherine Clinton, Alexei Navalny, and more
By The Week US