Despicable Me 4 Movie Review

  

Despicable Me 4

Director: Chris Renaud & Patrick Delage

Stars: Steve Carrell, Kristen Wiig, Will Ferrell, Joey King, Sofia Vergara

Runtime: 1 hour 34 mins

Genre: Animated Action Comedy

Despicable Me 4 is released in cinemas today. It marks the longest gap between Despicable Me movies (7 years), not counting the terrible spinoff Minions: The Rise of Gru from 2022. This movie sees the return of Gru and his family. It is the first movie in the franchise to carry a PG rating. Returning to joint direction duties for the first time since Despicable Me 2, Chris Renaud teams up with Patrick Delage. 

This movie is number one on my box office predictions for 2024, it will make a huge amount of money, but the thing is, is it actually any good?

Let's break it down..

Story and Plot

Gru's family welcomes a new family member Gru Jr. who is intent on tormenting his dad. However, their peaceful existence is shattered after criminal masterminds Maxime Le Mal (Ferrell) and Valentina (Vergara) escape from prison and vow revenge against Gru. 

My overall thoughts...

Inside Out 2, which has just become the highest grossing Pixar movie ever grossing (at time of writing) $1.25 billion dollars has a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. All of this is to say that the bar has been set very high by Pixar. 

So can Illumination Entertainment match them pound for pound? Er...no...unfortunately not.

Despicable Me 4 is an abysmal movie.

The movie fails to capture the charm and wit that made the earlier films in the series so beloved. The plot feels overstuffed and chaotic, attempting to juggle too many storylines without giving any of them the depth they deserve. It’s a movie where so much happens that nothing really happens. A constant stream of chaotic set pieces and forgettable cheap laugh slapstick.

The new villain, Maxime Le Mal, played by Will Ferrell is uninspired and lacks any menace or humour needed to make him memorable. He could have been voiced by any actor, he is generic, forgettable and one dimensional.

The film’s humour, which once felt fresh and clever, now comes across as tired and repetitive. 

The Minions, who were once the highlight of the series, are reduced to delivering the same slapstick gags we’ve seen countless times before. They also decided to try and be meta with an anti-superhero narrative by injecting four unsuspecting minions with super serum to create a Fantastic Four type team. The movie is not clever enough to play this in a smart way and it smacks of desperation of trying to scramble for new ideas of how to use the yellow henchmen. 

Whilst this series has never tried to teach children valuable lessons about life (a la Pixar), they were fun adventures. The screenplay in 4 though firmly prioritises gags over a coherent story, resulting in a disjointed narrative that struggled to keep me engaged.

Additionally, the new characters introduced in this instalment fail to leave a lasting impression. The best I suppose you could say was Joey King as Poppy the daughter of their next door neighbour. Sofia Vergara's character Valentina (Maxime's wife) could literally have been played by any working actor in Hollywood. It's just an excuse to have a well known actor's name on the poster. As for Gru's son, Gru. Jr he is basically Jack Jack from The Incredibles minus the super powers.

The new characters feel like mere placeholders, lacking the development needed to make them interesting or relatable. The film’s attempt to balance multiple storylines ultimately falls flat, making it difficult for viewers to invest in any of them.

Despicable Me 4 may well be a pile of pants, but it turns out at the very least visually you can polish a turd. The animation is fluid as ever and has the usual very colourful palette in line with Illumination Entertainment’s style and look.

Despicable Me 4 is a lacklustre addition to the franchise, offering little more than recycled jokes and a convoluted plot. Fans of the series may find some enjoyment in the familiar faces and antics, but it’s unlikely to win over new audiences or leave a lasting impact.

Verdict  - One to Miss