DESPICABLE ME 4 – A Review by John Strange
Gru (Steve Carell) and his family are back. The family, Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig) and the girls Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier), and Agnes (Madison Skyy Polan), is bigger with the addition of Gru Jr. Lucy Wilde is Gru’s partner at the AVL, the Anti-Villian League. The girls are happy in school.
Then Gru is sent to his alma mater, Lycée Pas Bon, to arrest his old school nemesis, Maxime Le Mal (Will Ferrell). He and the team are successful, but Maxime swears vengeance on him and his family from prison. And then escapes!
Gru and the family are forced to go to an AVL safe house. With new names. And jobs. And schools.
They take 3 minions with them into hiding. The rest are taken to AVL Headquarters. And well… they get experimented on. And, thanks to trailer #2, the Mega Minions are born! And they are cool!
The bad guy du Jure, Maxime Le Mal, and his henchwoman/girlfriend, Valentina (Sofia Vergara), are evil but funny (not anything new to this series). His desire to emulate his minions is more than a bit creepy but it works.
Gru’s minion’s humor is juvenile, and that is a large part of why we all love them. The film’s overall action is equal parts funny and violent. The writers leavened the violence of the story by adding in the humor, allowing it to meld into a great experience.
The “Cunningham’s” new next-door neighbors and the rest of the townies are nearly filler until you get to Poppy (Joey King), the neighbor’s daughter. Her character is the best new character in the series yet, though Gru Jr. is a very close second!
Despicable Me 4 is a violent family film. But a very good one. The audience at the screening was largely made up of families, even the press brought their families. After seeing the film, I don’t think I would bring my young kids to see this film. But the kids loved it as much as the adults so I’m not sure what to think.
Director: Chris Renaud
Co-Director: Patrick Delage
Cast: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Will Ferrell, Pierre Coffin, Joey King, Sofia Vergara, Stephen Colbert, Miranda Cosgrove, Chloe Fineman, Steve Coogan, Chris Renaud, Dana Gaier, Madison Polan
MPAA Rating: PG (for action and rude humor)
Selig Rating: 5 Stars
Runtime: 92 Min.
Release Date: 07/03/2024
Language: English
Genre: Action/Comedy (Animation)
Movie Site: DESPICABLE ME 4 Website
Trailer: DESPICABLE ME 4 Official Trailer
Trailer 2: DESPICABLE ME 4 Official Trailer 2
The Selig Rating Scale:
5 Stars – Excellent movie/show, well worth the time and price.
4 Stars – Good movie/show
3 Stars – OK movie/show
2 Stars – Well, there was nothing else…
1 Star – Total waste of time.
