Streaming · Review ·
Minions & Monsters
A warm, clever first half that finally gives the Minions a reason to be silent, then a louder, more ordinary second half once the monsters arrive. Critics mostly like it and call it the best of the franchise, with real dissent about the finish.
Now on Peacock in the US; availability varies by country. Three stars and a half, and a fair bet for a family evening.
Dir. Pierre Coffin (co-dir. Patrick Delage) · 2026 · 90 min · on Peacock in the US
The setup
The film is set in the 1920s, in the last years of silent cinema. Its Minions, led here by the trio of Henry, James and Ed, wander into a film set by accident and are hired as screen comics by a director played by Christoph Waltz and by studio bosses voiced by Jeff Bridges. Then sound arrives, and a gang whose language is gibberish has a problem. That is the first act. Everything after it, including the monsters of the title, is best met fresh.
"a lightly spiky critique"
Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service, on the film's view of Hollywood
What works
The idea is a good fit. Minions have always been slapstick performers who speak almost no words, and silent cinema was built on exactly that. Critics who liked the film liked the first half best, with its early-Hollywood sets, its nods to film history and its trust in pictures over dialogue. Walsh calls it a love letter to Old Hollywood and probably the first really good Minions movie. A review in the Free Press Journal gives it three stars and calls it imperfect but consistently entertaining, singling out Waltz as an exasperated filmmaker and Coffin's skill at keeping a crowd of near-identical characters distinct.
Variety's headline says the film "hits a creative high" for the franchise, and Rotten Tomatoes described the reviews as the best the series has had.
What doesn't
Critics split on the second half. Several reviewers say that once the monsters arrive the film turns louder and more generic, with big stakes taking the place of jokes, and some supporting characters show up late or vanish too fast to matter. The sharpest dissent is InReview, which calls the film an unfocused grab bag of film-history references and says the gags rarely come up with fresh visual comedy of their own. A fair summary: a warm, clever opening and a more ordinary finish, with a split over whether the grown-up jokes survive the noise.
Is this for you?
Tap what applies. This is a rough guide built from how the reviews divide, not a formula.
Where to watch
It opened in US cinemas on 1 July 2026 and reached Peacock in the US on 28 October. It has also been available to rent or buy digitally. Availability varies by country, so check your local services before you plan an evening around it.