Despite the passage of seven years since the last Despicable Me film, fans of the ever-growing billion-dollar brand will undoubtedly recognise Despicable Me 4. All the classic elements of Illumination Studios are present in this most recent release: a constant flow of catchy pop songs, a vibrant colour scheme, and vibrant characters with large, wide eyes and sharp, angular features.
In the most recent adventure of the repentant supervillain Gru (Steve Carrell), a lot is happening. There are about six different plots, none of which are significantly connected. One, starring Joey King as the youthful, would-be villain Poppy, doesn’t really work, but it does produce some funny visual gags. There are elements of an intriguing plot, but it never really takes off. One thread suggests that Gru feels insecure about his new baby not like him. This is the franchise’s most disjointed release to date.
Written by Mike White and Ken Daurio, the screenplay puts jokes ahead of plot.
New characters don’t have much of an impact. There’s the uninspired big bad Maxime le Mal (Will Ferrell), who harbours a deep-seated animosity towards Gru due to an incident at their high school talent performance and an unhealthy fixation with cockroaches. Valentina (Sofia Vergara), his girlfriend, has a worse time of it; all she does is pretend to be bored. The fact that they take up so much time from our favourite characters—including, in Despicable Me 4, a shockingly small number of Minions—makes it particularly annoying.
When it comes to Minions, the newcomers have greater promise as a collection of the world’s most beloved yellow critters have been transformed into superheroes and given the name Mega Minions. Though they are parodies of well-known superheroes like Elastigirl and The Thing (one joke even references a scene from Incredibles 2), they have a deft twist that makes for a good number of laughs.
There’s enjoyment to be had here, despite the general lack of cohesiveness. Written by Mike White and Ken Daurio, the screenplay puts jokes ahead of plot. It manages to make a few jokes even though it’s the worst film in the series.
Gru is still endearing, it looks amazing, and the smaller audience will be enough interested. However, Despicable Me 4 falters due to its convoluted storyline and unengaging storyline.