Despicable Me 4 review: This double life is quite messy

It is clear to say that one of the biggest media juggernauts that has come into more mass appeal of recent years is with the realm of animation and while their is all different studios like Disney and Pixar, Sony, Aardman, Paramount and many other companies that will make their own unique forms of entertainment with creating new ways of animations from CG, hand Drawn, stop motion and multimedia, enriching stories and some lighthearted affairs, there is a studio that would be one of the more newer companies compared to the others and that is of course with the studio of Illumination. Since 2010 they have delved their hand in the realm of filmmaking of animation, from concepts of similar nature with What pets do when their owners are not around, a signing contest with animals, a one off live action animated hybrid of an Easter bunny that wants to be a Rockstar and voiced by a possible sexual predator adaptations of Dr Suess Classics that either miss the point in marketing or most recent with the world famous mustached overall plumber bros (the first review I ever did on this blog and YouTube) that will be seeing more adventures soon. But today for this review we are delving into the newest entry in the series that has started it all for this company about villainy and created the one character group that has taken over the internet and Facebook memes in the early 2010s and that is of course with the Despicable Me and Minions franchise that is currently the biggest animated film franchise of all time in revenue. over the course of the near 15 year experience we saw the release of 3 mainline entries and from the popularity of their creation of 2 spin offs on the gibberish talking characters that have a varying appeal of entertainment (I really enjoy the first 2 film, 3rd film was underwhelming besides the villain and Minions 2 was better then 1 due to the meme and cause their was more of a structured story to it all). So now we come here today to talk on the new entry of Despicable Me 4 and I will ask the question of if this film is any good. While I can praise the cast performances and improvements with the animation, this film is unfortunately very disappointing and probably one of the weaker animated films of this year to me anyway (its not the worst as Megamind vs the Doom Syndicate is the worst by far) and I will delve into my issues and problems with the film here.

A story with a messy plan of action

So it is a case that it is a little bit of a long story but I will give a quick rundown of the mainline story so far for this series. The main focus of this series is with a man known as Felonious Gru, a tall man with style and a long pointy nose that has always been a lifelong supervillain and known for stealing massive items like the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower (the smaller ones from Vegas) and was seen as lame when someone younger has stolen the pyramid of Giza so he planned to steal the Moon with the help of his Minions Army. Doing that was going to be difficult as he had to face off with a younger villain that had strong form of direction and magnitude and soon comes into the affect of becoming a adoptive parent for 3 young Gorls of Margo Edith and Agnus. Through many misadventures in the original film that villainious hard shell will start to crack when the gorls soften his heart, will steal the moon before returning it back and find himself going from Super Bad to a Super Dad. 

Following that original story saw the sequel see him be initiated by a secret organization of the AVL (Anti Villain League) where he will help them track down a powerful serum that will have disastrous consequences if fallen into the wrong hands and where he will find love with his new partner of Lucy and the family will grow overtime while stopping a villain thought to be dead who had stolen the Minions and made them purple and evil. The 3rd film introduced a character named Dru or Gru's long lost rich brother who they learn about after Gru and Lucy get fired from the AVL after a mission went sideways from the work of 80s era villain Balthasar Bratt (the best character from that film who gets a bit underused) and will have him enter back into villainy one last time to do a heist with his more inexperienced brother. All fo them had some sense of building to a story where even if there was some smaller stories such as with other members of the family, villains or the Minions there was at least a structure that they all felt connected in some way. This is where the fault lies with the story for this film and I will give a rundown of the narrative for now.

"Gru welcomes a new member to the family, Gru Jr, who is intent on tormenting his Dad. However, their peaceful existence soon comes crashing down when criminal mastermind Maxime Le Mal escapes from prison and vows revenge against Gru"

So you are probably thinking that it does not sound like the most exciting of stories and does not give much of a context of who is this Maxime character and why is he out for revenge? Well that is the thing, the film wants to have that story as well as a few other stories mixed in there that really for the most part don't connect to each other heavily and feel forced to connect them in some way like you have the villain after Gru for some reason (it is a bad reason), Gru trying to be a better father for his biological son (which is still the odd case that everyone now realizes that Gru did the Despicable to Lucy), then there is a whole plot with another new kid that comes into play when the characters have to go into witness protection and there is the stuff they do with the minions that it feels really messy and just here, there and everywhere with it all that finding a structure just makes it all a mess. Sure some elements do work and in sense the characters can help it here and there but I feel it needed to either flesh out these stories and characters more for a better flowing narrative or focus on one story rather then jumping all over the place cause there is potential but it is messy and feels like a handful of the shorts they have with the home releases stitched together into a narrative.

Story: 4.5-5.5

The regular line up

Now as I mentioned of course this series has seen its fair share of characters here and there and this one has it group of familiar faces and some new additions that all come with a bit of a mixed opinion of characters and I will give my thoughts on each of them for this film in particular

Gru (Steve Carell)

Lets start of course with the main character of the series and that is with the main tall bald man himself of Gru. If there is anything I can say of a positive aspect to this film is that they actually at least give a bit more of a focus on Gru for this film compared to the others as it is a case he helps drive and is a focus for most of the smaller narrative stories in this film in particular that help connect them in some way. He has come a long way from a supervillain to an anti villain that is a bit of a spy in the process and in all sense I can at least give the effort they could with the character in this film as they clearly at least cared for him compared to a lot of the other characters in this film. He does have a sense that we have seen his character grown up a lot in the franchise and in all sense I can at least give him the benefit of being the most likable character and props to Steve Carell for making an effort with his voice and performance overall and felt that if given a more structured film and narrative would've worked even more.

Maxime Le Mal and Valentina (Will Ferrell and Sofia Vergara)

Now lets talk on a character with a big return for a certain voice actor but was pretty much wasted and that is with the new villain of this film with Maxime Le Mal and his partner of Valentina. The basis of this villain is that he has an interesting aspect that he has gained some new control of power but cross species by transforming himself into the form of a humanoid cockroach and the concept of that seems interesting but after the first few minutes of the opening they barely do anything with that too much and the villain feels like a real lazy afterthought as he really does nothing. It is a shame because they got Will Ferrell for this and this being the 2nd time he has voiced a villain in an animated film (and because they didn't get him back for that bad sequel earlier this year) that I feel they wasted his usage and on being much of a menace which was kind of similar to Balthasar but at least with that villain they gave him such a unique personality that even if he disappeared for a fair chunk of that film, here they just do random gags, show up to face Gru and is over within 5 minutes. The whole case as well of why he has a vendetta against Gru besides the bit in the beginning of the film is just really dumb (but even if I want to I am not spoiling it). Also to add to it as well, his partner or Girlfriend also really adds nothing to it either, she has a thing for him and puts up with his plan but that is all we get from her and just feels a bit underwhelming. Maybe the case of the multiple narrative stories made them underwhelming but it is hard to tell but I wish they gave him more of a better presence cause this villain was very disappointing and the weakest in the series for sure.

Margo, Edith, Agnes, Lucy AKA the Gorls

OK this one is also one that I can not give too much to talk on but we are talking on the Gorls of the film which is with the 3 younger girls of Margo, Edith and Agnes and Gru's Wife of Lucy. So it may be me but it seems with every film besides the one they are introduced in that these characters don't really get much to do in the following films as the 3 young girls only really had the massive focus in the first film and a little in the 2nd but from 3 onwards they really feel like they have been forgotten in this series and it is no exception here either. Most case with the 3 girls is that they really don't get much presence as they are overlooked with the new child in the house (I will delve on him in a moment) and they probably have like one focus scene mainly for Edith and Agnes with a Karate class that happens for a few minutes and that is all. As for Lucy she has a little bit more a presence here and there with Gru but also takes a fair bit of a back seat for most of the story besides the case of when they go into witness protection with a new occupation that it leads to a whole ordeal with a woman that she messes up something with her and leads to a bit of a confrontation in a supermarket but that is all she really has in this film and I thought she would be more with Gru of raising Gru Jr more in this film. One aspect I felt they missed an opportunity on is with another character I will talk on by the name of Poppy that they could've easily morphed her character story into one of the girls to give them something to do but I will mention it with that character of what it is. But overall with these characters it really feels like they do not know what to do with these girls and hopefully if an inevitable 5th film happens (and will also be applied with the aspect that they will not age up the characters) is that they give them something to do.

Gru Jr

The last of the Gru household that I can at least give a focus on is with the likes of the newest member of the family is with the introduction of Gru Jr. SO this new addition is really the most present of the family besides Gru and is often with his dad for a good portion of the stories and film. Most case with this is it feel likes he looks a little like a knock off Jack-Jack from the Incredibles just without all the powers and I can see what they mean. Now the basis is that he does do a bit here and there in the film and helps move some elements of the plot going forward in some aspects but he does not offer that much in substance besides trying to have some building bond for him and his Dad. There is some OK moments with this character and with Gru but overall the presence of this character is just fine, nothing
too annoying but fine as is.

Poppy (Joey King)

So lets meet essentially the last new addition to the film and the 2nd last character focus to this and introduce to the character I mentioned already and that is Poppy. We learn that she is the new neighbours for Gru and his family when they go into hiding and there seemed to be something about the character that seemed off or know about something and then soon figures out that Gru was a former villain and wants it to be a dream of hers to become a villain herself by doing a daring heist. So this is where the issue I have comes into play cause it is the concept of this young girl wanting to become a villain and being mentored by Gru would've worked better if it was done with one of his own daughters instead (I can see it work the best with Edith or maybe Margo) and felt that they just wanted a new character to add in cause they didn't want to massively change the girls charcaters too much but I can't tell. The basis with her character is ok but she is in this film for about 10 minutes, we meet her around the 30 min mark, the introductions and then the heist and after that is where she just vanishes from the last bit of the film (plus she also makes a really cringe Boomer joke that made me feel annoyed and also made the sense of timeline of the films really messy). I think she is also fine, she doesn't overstay her welcome in this in general but I feel they could've worked her character aspect into one of the other girls instead of being a villain (and also now realizing they did this exact thing in Despicable Me 3 with Dru so they are just copying the aspect again).

The Minions

And finally, you probably thought I would skip over these guys but that is not the case and let us talk on the Minions. SO I really don't have much to say on the case of these characters and my opinions on them can vary by film like the original 2 films they work the best, their first solo film is a bit all over the place and they also started to see a bit of a reduced screentime but in all honesty I find these characters tolerable in this one as they do not heavily push them in this film (which is surprising given these characters are essentially the companies mascot). SO they have their odd appearance of random gibberish and hijinks gags but one of the new additions was that they gave 5 of them superpowers and created the Mega Minions (characters that were actually leaked ahead of the reveal by a new range of LEGO sets for this film) and in some sense they get some good jokes with them for a bit of a montage that is not overlong and have some good gags that I find tolerable but after that they really don't have much to do after that scene and then just appear at the very end and feel they were also out of ideas for this new super group and the yellow overall wearing characters. I am sure that the case of the Minions solo films and the upcoming confirmed 3rd Minions film in 3 years that they will likely be another time period story or be set after this film and focus on the Mega Minions or something close to it cause I feel they would not just toss them aside that quickly, but besides focusing on that, I can say these characters are tolerable, they have some form of entertainment value (even a little in this amongst other aspects that is just noise) and I can appreciate something from them in that regard.

So that is essentially all of the characters I can really talk about as the likes of any other characters don't have much of a presence to the film. The only character that has a bit of a screen presence is the AVL director of Silus Ramsbottom who is really there to give a bit of an info dump for the characters and create the Mega Minions really and that is all he has in this film, he is fine but not really much to add. There is Poppy's parents who are... eh and as for you wondering is DR Nefario and Dru and other characters from previous films in this, they really have no presence and don't really appear in this at all so if you were expecting them to play a role in this film, you will be disappointed.

So overall in general the character in this film is really a mixed bag of appeal as there are some they gave more focus to then others, some stories that could've morphed into pre-existing characters and some that feel like a missed opportunity to do something interesting with and felt like a good chunk of them were an afterthought. If there is anything that I can give praise to with these characters is that I feel they give a valiant effort with the voice performances of working with what they have presented to them and give it their all and can applaud that I can tell they tried their best amongst the mess and some characters are good and some that pass with fine but I feel they could've worked better with them in general and at least it is not too many characters to follow as well so I will give it that as a plus but overall a mixed bag of appeal to these characters

Characters: 5-6

The work went well to the presentation

It is not all disappointment and despair as there is 2 sections that I can at least give a bit more of a stronger praise to and the first one is on the sense of the presentation with the animation as it is seen that it is a really stylized and clean and you can tell by looking over the course of this franchises evolving from the original in 2010 from simple animation to where it has taken the evolving form of the animation that many studios in the industry have been doing with every passing film and release and I have to give praise for the level of detail, improvements in elements and style and it really makes it look that much impressive. If there is anything that I can provide the praise for when the likes of story and characters may underwhelm it is the animation providing something nice to look at in the process.

The same I can say as well about the characters for the most part as some of the characters at least have a distinct look to help know who is who like you see the small pill shaped things with arms and legs you know they are the minions, someone with a tall build with long legs and pointy nose it is Gru and the same is said for most of the other characters. The only one that would be probably confused with another form of character is Gru Jr as it would be seen as a normal baby or looking a bit too similar to Jack-Jack from the Incredibles and some feel a bit too simple or elaborate of a style but it is very few and far between.

If one other aspect I can talk on and it is the pacing and it is a bit all over the place and a little rushed in some aspects. The film clocks in at around 95 minutes and it has its moments where the flow is fine but there can be moments where things are moving so fast amongst all of the multiple stories that it can be a lot to take in at once or slowed down to points that don't really add too much to the narrative. I know the case that Illumination tend to have films clock in between 80 to 100 minutes and I feel if it had a little bit of an extended time frame on the film of maybe around 100 minutes or slightly over it would work. I know the other big animated film out at the same time as this is one minute longer but some elements work better in the pacing even so. Its not a massive affect on it but it is noticeable in points and some change of the pacing may have worked better but overall in presentation it good visually with a few hiccups here and there

Presentation: 7-8

Making sense of some gibberish speak

So this is where I will not waste too much time on the likes of this section but the likes of the writing for this film is fine. It is not going to massively change much and delve into the massive realm of deep topics and discussion as it is an animated film targeted for children of bright colours and funny noises. Sure it is to say that animation can have some really good stories with some strong writing that can tell some in depth stories (which is what Pixar is often known for of giving some well made writing with a fine balance of jokes and humor in there and even with some creators for other companies like Sony and Dreamworks now and again). It is not to say that Illumination doesn't try as there is moments throughout this series and other films from their catalogue that do make a fair effort like the first and 2nd films do have those moments that work and in a way will get a bit affected by the change of the evolving films that your target is for families and kids but it would be fun for the basis of having some of those moments back. A bit of the writing and the jokes do not land that often to me as much as I expect as some are just kind of the low brow humour here and there or trying some elements that some may find funny (and as I mentioned they made a boomer joke and I felt pain from it) but I think it is ok for the most part in have some writing that make some sense that you understand it, even when it can fly off in all different directions at a moments notice and feel very messy, which again plays into the multiple plotlines at once with minimal connection route that is present here that if focused on one overarching narrative may have worked that little better but its hard to tell.

Writing: 5-5.5

Why do these movies always have a good soundtrack

As I mentioned there is one other aspect that I can always be surprised of going off hard with these films in particular and that is that the music for this films actually go off hard and it does slap. the score for this film composer of Heitor Pereira has those elements of the last few films with the theme and classic tones sprinkled throughout that appeal and work well for the likes of the setting for certain scenes when it is used in general and he seems to prove that he has some clear love for the series. As for one other aspect of the film that I can talk on with this section is on the basis of the new song from longtime Illumination collaborator of Pharrell Williams who has come along and dropped the films title song that fits the narrative of one of the stories which is with Double Life and it has a good beat and there is some strong moments in the song for sure and works well for the films opening scene of Gru driving a flashy car up a dangerous mountain road and I think he does go well on the likes of the track itself. The other licensed tracks feel a little hit or miss in its place from the likes of mixed genres from BTS to Dragonforce, Led Zeppelin and Right Said Fred and even the likes of getting the rights for the theme of Terminator for one scene that it feels a bit odd and I mentioned as well in another Illumination review that it can be distracting that if it was a focus more of the original tracks and original songs for said film fit more but I guess they will try as much as they can until it works out properly for them.

Music: 7-8

Compile the casualties of the plan

So it is a case that like every review I do is that I of course give my thoughts on the critiques I have given it and while I have given my thoughts of some of them in the sections I felt it is best to round them up in general just to give an idea of what the issue is.

Story and Writing: I am combining these 2 as just one option as they do blend together in its capacity as it delves into the issue that will come from it and that is the story is all over the place. I mentioned that the narrative to this film feels like a few of those mini movies that are bundled with the home release of the film that vary of around 5-10 minutes in length and the issue that comes with it is that it makes them feel all over the place with structure that you have a double life story in one elements, family bond in the next, a revenge story, a heist movie and a superhero film all mixed into one that it becomes a bit muddled as to wonder what connects them in a way and what feels like this would fit more for a separate film or a story arc in a tv series (which can feel a bit of what this can be compared to as well). If it was focused on one story of mix one or 2 elements better and focus on that with the characters then I feel it would make more sense of a better flow and with the writing that jumps all over the shop that it becomes muddled but maybe it was a throw everything at the wall and see what sticks.

Characters: This one is with the basis that you do not have a lot of characters in this but I feel they really not give much of them that much of a character besides Gru, a small selection of Minions and Maxime at first, but it gets lost in trying to have some compelling character arcs for most of them with Maxime being a very weak villain and motivation, the daughters and Lucy having not much to do at all in this film, poppy who is fine but could've morphed a bit of her story with one of the Gorls and the Baby being ok with not much to add to it at that and some other characters not even in the film after being a presence in the last few films. I think it is a case going forward that some development for some characters and explanations for the absence of others would need to be addressed and focused on but it is hard to tell with this for the series.

Presentation: This is mainly just with some elements of the character designs that one or 2 look like a copy of previous designs of other projects or characters in the film which come off a little confusing and the other element is with the basis of pacing feeling rushed in some regards and slowed down in others and I feel if given a few more minutes or so on some elements that I think it would fix the pacing issues for that in some regards

Music: this just comes down to the aspect of the licensed tracks where some of them just feel a little out of place and here and there with its odd choices and not much connection to the plot or just used to fit a scene that has no real benefit much of the time. If it was more a focus on the music for the film like the score and the Music from Pharrell then I can see it appeal more but mainly on the odd selection in general.

Those are just some of the issues with this film that I could pinpoint and it was a case that if they were fixed it would be a lot more appealing of a film then its messy outcome overall.

Did it find a solution or is it all over the place?

So in conclusion, in the overall outcome of the project, the 4th mainline entry in the Despicable Me franchise feels a fair bit messy and all over the place in some regards with multiple stories at once, underused characters and villains and other elements in this series that will make it one of the more weaker entries in the series (probably close to the original Minions film with that mixed appeal). Do I think that its the worst Illumination film, no, it is one of the weakest in the Library but I would have the CGI live action film of Hop as the worst and this has some good elements from visually appealing animation, some decent characters and music just in this hodge podge mess. Could their be potential to fix it or the likliness of a 5th film in this series, well that one can be a yes but with a mixed response as likely there will be a 5th film as well as more films based on Minions cause these movies make big bank at the box office and there already is a planned 3rd Minions film so most case there will be more of this series but I do hope that they will give a more structured format to the series, develop some of the long running characters more again and give a bit more of an entertainment factor akin to the first 2 and the recent Minions film in general. I do think that it has some entertainment value for kids and I know that it is aimed for kids and families in general, so I do seem harsh on the film but it is just my own opinion on this and I just want to talk on all things media and feel that people deserve better even in the realm of animation.

Final Score

Story: 4.5 - 5.5

Characters: 5 - 6

Presentation: 7 - 8

Writing: 5 - 5.5

Music: 7 - 8

Total Score 28.5 - 33 or 57 - 66%

But through all of this in particular I would like to know your own thoughts on this film if you have seen it and would like to know your own thoughts, did you like the film, did you hate it or are you indifferent about the whole ordeal? Let me know what you think of the film below and tell me your reasons and as always I hope you all stay being wonderful people and have a great day everyday and I will see you all in the next review :)

Take care, keep being you, signing off

Sam H :)