Review: Despicable Me 3

Despicable Me 3 (2D)
Cert: U / 90 mins / Dir. Pierre Coffin, Kyle Balda & Eric Guillon / Trailer



Maybe Illumination have already peaked this year with the critically lauded Sing*¹? Maybe the marketplace for family-friendly animated adventure is finally becoming too densely populated to sustain its own hype? Maybe the Despicable Me storyline should have bowed out after its second installment to just let the little guys take over full-time? Because one thing's for sure: Despicable Me 3 is coasting, and coasting hard…

Now that's probably far too harsh an opening gambit while talking about a film I actually quite enjoyed, but as much as I smiled and occasionally chuckled my way through the film, it didn't make me well-up like the first movie and it didn't make me guffaw out loud like the third. And I only mention this because it's a bar the series has set for itself. The new feature is an amusing, if perfunctory, amble through the continuing life of Gru, Lucy and the girls Margo, Edith and Agnes. Kristen Wiig and Steve Carell return in their established roles, with the latter doubling up as his own twin brother Dru*², this time fighting a former child-actor turned 1980s-obsessed megalomaniac named Balthazar Bratt. It makes for a metric ton of Rubik's Cube, moonwalking and shell-suit references, as well as the sort of greatest-hits soundtrack you'd expect from a film in 2017.

Illumination Studios turn out their best visually, and everything on offer looks as smooth, colourful and richly textured as we've come to expect*³. But the scope of the story is that of a straight-to-DVD sequel which just happens to be showing in your local cinema, punctually clocking in at exactly 90 minutes and with no bells, whistles or end-of-credits sting. The over-arching story splits off into several threads leaving the film feeling disjointed - a quality no doubt enhanced by having two writers and three directors onboard (even if they've all worked with the property on previous occasions). The best parts are the segments (and they are largely separate altogether) featuring the Minions. Which makes you wonder why we're still hanging around so much with Old Man Gru…

But Despicable Me 3 is charming and enjoyable in a thoroughly disposable sort of way. Your padawans will love it, which is the important thing, right?

I just know that Illumination are capable of better.
Where is Minions 2, please?

For the most part, the Despicable Me movies, although the film shares a curious symmetry with Julian Barratt's Mindhorn, as well.



Only if you have little ones dragging you along by the sleeve.



Keep the franchise ticking over and act as an extended advert for Minions merchandise? Yep.



Nope.



Nope.



There is.



Level 1: Rax Joris/Kalani, Lama Su (in The Clone Wars) and Jim 'Additional Voices In The Old Republic' Ward are all in this.





*¹ A film I refused to watch as the trailers made it look like a collection of soulless, twee, shrieking awfulness which epitomises everything I detest about Saturday night television while it pisses into the open grave of The Age of Light Entertainment. ^{[ BACK ]}

*² All I'm saying is, when a sitcom gets to 'lead-actor playing own long-lost twin' territory, it's usually on its arse… ^{[ BACK ]}

*³ And bonus points are awarded here for a copyright-baiting reference to Carbonite™, as well as fleeting visual nods to Finding Nemo, The Grinch and Futurama. ^{[ BACK ]}


DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.

Review: Despicable Me 2 (3D)

Despicable Me 2 (3D)
Cert: U / 98 mins / Dir. Pierre Coffin & Chris Renaud



Now I don't want to give the impression that I didn't enjoy this immensely, but I think it's missing the spark that made its predecessor such a great film. Namely, the ability to make me well up in a cinema. And let's be honest, that's happened on more than one occasion; I'm an easy target, theatrically speaking.

The central thread about the Anti-Villain League's mission to recover a secret formula seems a little half-arsed somehow, as does the Gru/Lucy subplot. In fact at its core, Despicable Me 2 feels like it's been cobbled together around some visual-sketches for The Minions to star in. Now these are great gags, but nothing that couldn't have been done with a straight-to-DVD spinoff. I found the film to be very funny a lot of the time, but there was no emotional hook this time around. Gru and his girls are settled, and nothing puts that in jeopardy; the worst that could happen is that he won't get a girlfriend. Erm, okay.

The 3D is nicely rendered and consistently in use, although whether that'll make or break the experience is down to your preference. The voice acting is all solid enough, but it's Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier and Elsie Fisher that shine once more as Steve Carrell's young charges. I just wish we'd spent more time in their company. But if you want slapstick and silliness, plus a shedload of visual references for the older generation, you won't go far wrong.

The audience laughed throughout, but not as much as Universal and Illumination Entertainment's accountancy departments, I suspect.

Pretty much.



I laughed a lot.



I think so.



Cinema / DVD.



No.



At some point.



Yes, and in the first three minutes. ACE!

After proving the law of diminishing returns once more (to my mind, at least), should we be feeling nervous about the Wreck-It Ralph sequel?

DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.