The reformed supervillain Gru and his army of yellow minions returned to theaters just a day before Independence Day with new, family friendly, sci-fi hijinks. In “Despicable Me 4,” Gru and his family, including a new baby, had to go into hiding to keep away from a cockroach themed supervillain (don’t worry, these cockroaches were cute).
“Despicable Me 4” was directed by Chris Renaud, who directed the first two films, where he also voiced the minions, though he did not reprise that role for the new film. It starred Steve Carell, reprising his role as Gru, and was produced by Universal Pictures and Illumination.
Highs
Though not all the jokes landed, most of the ones involving Gru did. The movie challenged him to live a more domestic life while raising a new baby, leading to lots of witty comedy with Carell’s sharp delivery.
Despite Gru’s life taking a more domestic turn, the film also expanded on the sci-fi hijinks of this world. If Illumination wanted to go beyond Gru and the minions, they have a large sandbox to pull from for ideas. Especially with the introduction of a school for supervillains.
The animation, like with many Illumination films, was pleasing to the eye with a heavy use of warm lighting, bright colors, and eccentric character designs. In particular, the animal designs were adorable, using the same style as “The Secret Life of Pets,“ another Illumination franchise.
Lows
The film’s plot and humor were both throwing everything at a wall and seeing what sticks, which made the movie a mixed bag. The plot was all over the place with its multiple POVs. At times, it felt more like a TV series of interconnected shorts with constant, nonstop jokes. Not all the jokes landed, especially the overly familiar ones such as those pertaining to minions and some that made fun of characters being fat, which was both in poor taste and unoriginal.
The minions were perhaps one of the greatest examples of too much of a good thing. What began as a cute, charming joke in the first movie, morphed into a fight-or-flight inducing annoyance thanks to an overabundance of “Despicable Me” franchise films and use in unfunny Facebook memes. This is not to say the minions were never funny in the fourth film, they did have their moments, but they had an uphill battle they didn’t always win. The schtick was tired.
The franchise seemed to have forgotten that what made it great was not just the comedy, but also the amount of heart it had. The first movie was incredibly heartfelt, showing how Gru learned to become a father. The second film had a quirky, charming love story as Gru fell for Lucy, played by Kirsten Wiig. While always wacky, the films have been extremely wholesome.
The newest film did have potential for heart, especially as Gru and Lucy had a baby, but it failed to hit the same due to the over bloated jokes and plot, and the use of side characters such as Lucy and the girls purely for comedy. There was no time to really explore the character relationships because nearly every second was used for a joke, or multiple.
Verdict
“Despicable Me 4” was just okay. It had a vibrant world and a lot of humor, but rang hollow without a strong emotional heart, stifled by being too over-bloated with gags and plotlines. Comedy itself is not all that makes a comedy film good, and this comedy needed better curation.
“Despicable Me 4” is currently playing in theaters everywhere.
Rating: 5 out of 10.
