Introduction

It’s been a wild ride for the Despicable Me franchise over the years. None of the films ever got to a Pixar level (although even some of their films have disappointed as of late). However, there’s no denying how ridiculously popular they are. They have all been profitable, with almost all of them making either slightly more or slightly less than a billion dollars.

I really liked the first and third installments, but I really didn’t care for the Minions spin-offs. This resulted in me having rather mixed expectations (the trailer didn’t do any favors either). But I am happy to report that while Despicable Me 4 isn’t as good as its predecessor, it is still a fun time at the movies with your family.

Synopsis

Despicable Me 4 picks up at least a year or two after the third installment, with Gru (Steve Carrell) and Lucy (Kristen Wiig) dealing with their growing family. They have a new baby now and are experiencing the joys of changing diapers while still being agents in the Anti-Villian-League (AVL). They are eventually alerted that a former villain school rival (Will Farrell) and his girlfriend (Sofia Vergara) have broken out of prison and are coming for their revenge.

Review

I won’t spoil what happens next because I think the trailers go out of their way to not tell you the main plot of the film. But I will say that it’s a fun story. New characters are introduced (all of them with big hair, it seems) and they are mostly a great addition. I really thought Farrell would bring some of his Megamind charm to his role as Gru’s rival, but unfortunately, he was a bit forgettable. Vergara’s Valentina was criminally underused, and I think would have made a better main villain.

The minions do have a lot of fun in this film. While they still are stand-ins for 5-year-old boys, some of them get superpowers this time around. They get to parody the superhero genre a bit with each of these super-powered minions finding themselves in very familiar scenarios on what seems to be the streets of New York. As I said in my review for Minions: Rise of Gru, it’s really remarkable how these filmmakers have such a love of fantastic cinema but are unable to rise to the occasion of actually making great cinema.

As with the other Despicable Me films, this one has quite a bit of heart. Despite some sloppy storytelling, the movie found its footing at the end of the second act. I was mildly satisfied at the end, which is more than I can say for many other Minions or even other titles from Illumination.  I’m also grateful it was only about an and a half.

The Bottom Line

I’m not the core audience for Despicable Me 4, but it is a bit better than I expected. You could do worse than taking your family to see it.