Review: Despicable Me 4 – Everybody wants to rule the world
Directed Chris Renaud and Patrick Delage
Starring Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Will Ferrell, Joey King
6/10
When Gru (Steve Carell) helps the A.V.L. (Anti-Villain League) imprison an old school rival and supervillain, Maxime La Mal (Will Ferrell), he puts a target on his family’s back. Already struggling with the relationship with his newborn son, Gru and his family must adjust to a new life in an AVL safehouse. As Lucy (Kristen Wiig) and the girls attempt to pass in their new identity, Gru is blackmailed by a neighbourhood kid (Joey King), a girl who dreams of being a villain herself.
The seventh outing in the franchise (if you count the spin-off ‘Minion’ movies), this is a solid, rather than brilliant, entry. Despicable Me 4 is hampered by its somewhat scattered plot and a lack of a strong underlying emotional theme to give it some heft. However, there’s a lot going on here in terms of story: Gru confronting his past, the changing family dynamics due to both his new son and witness protection, the threat of his old school rival, trying to blend into ordinary society, the threat of a potentially villainous neighbour, the antics of the Minions, the AVL, etc. There are too many irons in the fire, and not many of those plotlines are given appropriate development during the runtime.
As such, the film jumps from one comic vignette to the next. While this is frenetic enough to be entertaining, it does make the film feel a little piecemeal rather than a cohesive whole. Fortunately, these disparate threads are mostly brought together in the final act, but not everything gets resolved.
What Despicable Me 4 does extremely well is re-introducing audiences to the ‘60s-inspired spy-fi world that the franchise has created, being as much Bond (or Austin Powers) as it is Marvel. We are even given a touch of pulp steampunk this time, with the inclusion of Gru’s old supervillain academy (imagine Hogwarts, but with lasers rather than trolls). This world is brought to vivid life through some gorgeous animation from Illumination, allowing for some dynamic and fluid action set pieces.
Then there’s the character of Gru himself. Carell does an effortless job of conveying Gru’s arrogance and petty frustration while still delivering a likeable character. It’s because we’ve seen behind his villainous persona, both the neurosis underneath the mask of bravado and the caring side of his family life, that we can appreciate him. The deadpan fashion with which he can accept being humiliated by the evil genius of Gru Jr. or being forced to break into an impenetrable fortress using the contents of a diaper bag is just comic gold. The way he can turn both of these low points into opportunities to shine and bond with others says a lot about how good some of the character writing can be here. After all, claiming little victories in a sea of chaos is something most parents will relate to.
We can’t go without mentioning the Minions. These maniacal yellow munchkins have certainly been the moneymakers of the franchise. Here, their mischief mostly provides laughs for younger audiences, although there’s a few pieces of superhero parody that might draw Disney’s or Sony’s attention.
Despicable Me 4 is another fun outing for the franchise, rather than a great one. It manages to keep both its younger and older audiences entertained and do a little world-building, but not too much more.
DAVID O’CONNELL