DESPICABLE ME 4 REVIEW: GRU AND HIS MINIONS’ GAGS AND GOOFS ARE TOO SILLY FOR THE GROWN UPS

The ‘Despicable Me’ franchise when it first debuted was arguably the best animated film we had seen in a long time. It had everything. The horrendously quirky comedy that hit the spot for viewers and its hair raising villains (apart from the geeky Vector) was a delicious treat. Despicable Me was exactly what it wanted to be. An aspiring villain on his journey to be the who’s who of the most baddest and sinister supervillain.

And with Despicable Me 4, it just sounded so much like ‘the boys’ were back with another kick ass entertainer, but thats only if you’re still stuck in the PG rating. The creators were like, “Oh my god, they love gags, just keep them coming.” And some land mind you, you will definitely find yourself chuckling at the ‘yellow bananas.’ But it’s also the character evolution of the bald agent of the AVL (anti-villain league), who was once a feared nemesis. Gru went from a hard-boiled savage to a soft hearted baby. He basically loses all the aura he was oozing out.

Despicable Me 4: Brief on the plot

Still from Despicable Me 4 (Images via Imdb)

Gru’s (Steve Carell) decision to join the AVL (anti-villain league) in Despicable Me 2 lands him catching the bad guys who he once was. And viola, the villain turned copper, is tasked to arrest Maxime Le Mal (Will Ferrell), the ‘Insect Man’ (so glad he didn’t stick with it). Gru and his three yellow compadres put on a show while cuffing Le Mal up, which enrages the latter to show Gru his place. Le Mal escapes prison and prepares for his wild goose chase to kidnap Gru’s new-born child (yes, Gru becomes a real father).

Also read: Steve Carell and Illumination take a dig at superhero franchises with the ‘Megaverse’

Silas Ramsbottom (in the minion voice “bottom, haha”) the president of the AVL informs Gru of Le Mal’s notorious plan, and to keep his family safe he moves into a safe house under Bottom’s insistence under false identities. And there he meets Poppy (Joey King) another villain aspirant, who soon uncovers Gru’s alias. Poppy grabs hold of Gru by blackmailing him into pulling of a heist. Meanwhile Le Mal closes in on Gru with his girlfriend’s help, Valentina (Sofia Vergara).

Despicable Me 4 trailer: 

Despicable Me 4: Do the cast nail their performances?

When we get down to the performances, there is not a single actor who underperforms. Steve Carell, Will Ferrell (love how they rhyme), Kristen Wiig, and Sofia Vergara too, were all too good which is a no brainer.

Also read: Steve Carell starrer Despicable Me 4 opens with $27 million, A CinemaScore

But there were times where it felt like the characters were getting too exasperating, partly because of the script. Other than that they were amazing. The cast put their all into what they could and did their best.

Despicable Me 4: What sticks out in the quirky comedy?

Still from Despicable Me 4 (Images via Imdb)

As far as the plot is concerned, the film is a beautiful entertainer, another thing about the film that is very appealing is the animation. It felt so lucid, the colors and the entire look of the film was like eye candy. But then when we talk about the film as a whole, it feels underwhelming.

The music was also an added plus point. With Pharrell’s enchanting “Double Life,” the opening scene promises a terrific entry into the story. The car scene where Gru drives up to the “Lycee Pas Bon” (the school of villainy) triggered the child in me at how cool it looked. It wasn’t just the multi hyphenates track, BTS, and the sensational Tears for Fears “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” ended the film on the right note.

The Mega minions, yes, the ‘Fantastic Four’ inspired superheroes is an interesting addition to the film, but mostly just to throw in a bunch of laughs that didn’t do much compared to what was actually happening.

Still from Despicable Me 4 (Images via Imdb)

Oh and the villain. Christ almighty, this was one of the worst villains from the franchise. You’d think that nobody would top the punchable Vector but then you see Maxime Le Mal. The thing with Vector was he was too annoying in the way he was portrayed, but his character was still lovable. Can’t say the same about Mr. Insect Man.

Despicable Me 4 is a noisily stretched film, with way too many unnecessary gimmicks. It fails to capture the essence of its predecessors which turned it into a comedic flick. This might as well be the direction the creators where aiming for, but I don’t think it stuck too well. What I do think it would be best as, is as a family entertainer. Or if you’d like to turn your brain off and just catch an animated film after a long day at work or just in life, it might do you some good. Or maybe not, just don’t hold me accountable.

Rating: 2/5 stars

Despicable Me 4 is now showing theatres near you. 

2024-07-05T11:33:05Z