A One Mann’s Movies review of “Despicable Me 4” (2024).
“Despicable Me 4” again illustrates why kids films are produced in such a volume: at the time of writing, it’s made over £17 million at the UK and Ireland box office and has kept “Twisters” from the number one spot. In fact, with “Despicable Me 4” at number one and “Inside Out 2” still at number three, it’s surprising that they make anything other than these films!
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
Plot Summary:
Gru (Steve Carell) is now an effective member of the AVL, the Anti-Villain League. His next target is the part man/part Cockroach villain called Maxime Le Mal (Will Ferrell). But when Maxime escapes prison and vows revenge on Gru, Gru and his family are forced to leave their home, adopt new identities and live in a safe house.
Certification:
UK: U; US: PG. (From the BBFC web site: “Very mild comic violence, threat, language, rude humour”.)
Talent:
Starring: Steve Carell, Will Ferrell, Sofia Vergara, Kristen Wiig, Pierre Coffin.
Directed by: Chris Renaud & Patrick Delage.
Written by: Mike White & Ken Daurio.
Twitter Handle: #DespicableMe; #minions.
Running Time: 1h 34m.
“Despicable Me 4” Summary:
Positives:
- Enough comic action for kids; sly jokes for the adults.
- Great animation.
- A wonderful ensemble voice cast: Sofia Vergara in particular made me laugh.
Negatives:
- Am I the only person in the world that finds the minions a bit irritating at times?
Review of “Despicable Me 4”:
A big thumbs up from my 4-year-old.
It’s always a risk taking an under 5 to the cinema, ever to a “U” certificate film. This was the test for my 4-year-old grandson Jack. Would he last the course? Would I be able to write a review if I’d only seen two-thirds of the film. (No!) Thankfully, he sat pretty much fully engaged throughout. There were a couple of moments of peril when he quietly said “I want to go home now” but I convinced him it would be alright and we made it all the way to the end titles. Phew!
Afterwards he was buzzing about it. He loved the “mega-Minions” – and I admit, though not a massive fan of the little yellow shits – these variants were pretty funny. He also understood a lot more of the story than I expected him to and fully recounted it to his parents on returning home.
And that’s what really counts isn’t it?
A solid entry in the Despicable Me franchise
With a more critical hat on, I really didn’t have a lot to complain about. It was not particularly innovative, story-wise, but it was a good solid animated comedy film that hit all the right buttons. It appealed to the kids, but it had enough in the plot to appeal to adults too. I certainly laughed a number of times. A few movie spoofs – including one very funny one from “Terminator 2” and another spoofing the scene where Tobey Maguire stops a speeding train in Spider-Man 2 – hit the spot.
Great voice cast
Stars must love doing these sorts of films. No ‘crack-of-sparrow’s-fart’ morning calls. A nice cosy recording studio with coffee and muffins on tap. What’s not to love? The ensemble cast do a great job here. Steve Carell again adds his inimitable style to Gru and Kristen Wiig returns as his wife Lucy. Will Ferrell is difficult to recognise as the villain Maxine Le Mal but his girlfriend Valentina is instantly recognisable as the sultry Latin tones of Sofia Vergara. She didn’t even need to say anything particularly funny…. it just made me laugh anyway.
Minions
I know lots of people love the Minions. My film-reviewing colleague the Reverend Andy Godfrey can’t get enough of them. And Mark Kermode falls about laughing whenever they appear. I seem to be rather immune to their charm. But I’ll admit that it is impressive that a single guy (Pierre Coffin) supplies all of their voices.
Summary Thoughts on “Despicable Me 4”
A fun animated feature that’s deservedly doing very well.
Where to Watch it (Powered by Justwatch)
Trailer for “Despicable Me 4”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtNYaH61dXY .
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