Despicable Me 4

This fourth film in the series crashes and burns on multiple levels. The story is a tedious slog, failing to capture the spark of the previous entries. The villain, unworthy of the franchise's legacy, is a bumbling disappointment easily defeated by a puppy. This lackluster antagonist makes the film an unenjoyable chore, especially for fans who invested time in the previous installments.

But the problems go deeper than a weak villain. The plot itself feels uninspired, and the film fails to recapture the magic that made the earlier movies so entertaining. It's a forgettable entry in a series that deserved better.

Verdict: SKIP IT!

Rating: 6.5/10

I really wanted to like this movie but it was pretty disappointing. The movie didn't have much of a story and the scenes felt like they were all over the place. The laugh out loud moments were too far and few between. I feel like they relied too much on the minions slapstick comedy as opposed to focusing on character development and creating funny scenarios in the storyline.

The villain was forgettable and not too impressive. The entire time it felt like there was nothing at stake. The only motivation for the villain was petty revenge. The thing that put me off the most in this movie was Gru's switch from a heel to a babyface. It just doesn't suit him or create funny moments. Gru is much funnier being the sarcastic wisecracking villain you love, not this tame neutered family man. He's much funnier popping kid's balloons and melting their ice cream then running around trying to please everyone.

I do admit though that him now being a family man makes sense in the continuity of the story, however it does nothing to improve the comedic scenes of the storyline which is why we all watch these movies in the first place.

I gave this movie a 6.5/10. It's not a good movie, but not a terrible one either. I feel that this movie was the weakest of the four and that this series has ran its course with nothing else left to offer. In my opinion, save your money and wait for this to come out on streaming.

I think this falls into the same mistakes that the third one did. It was still classic Minion fun, but it didn't have a story to tell. In fact, in this one there isn't really a story. The story was just loosely tied together. In fact, it's multiple different things tied together, to make a mess of a story. That being said, I still had fun. I thought that the different bits and pieces we got was the fun to be expected with this franchise. For me, it still had a little bit of the charm from the first two. It isn't completely lost yet. The growth of Gru and his son was cute, but that was just about as interesting the movie got. I still had a lot of fun with the Mega Minions, I hope we can see more of them in the future. This franchise will forever be a guilty pleasure of mine.

Now, I've been a fan of these Despicable Me Movies since 2010 and I've loved all of the movie in a variety of different qualities. However, there was a part of me that wasn't necessarily excited for this movie and that's a big surprise for me. Now that I've watched the movie and I can honestly say that while I did like this movie, we've officially come to the point where the Despicable Me Franchise is starting to feel played out.

Positives for Despicable Me 4 (2024): There is still a lot of fun that can be had with this set of characters and honestly these movies won't survive without them. I enjoyed that this movie has a wide variety of different characters with their own distinct personalities and charisma. I really enjoyed the addition of Joey King as Poppy Prescott as one of the the neighbor characters to the Gru Family. I liked the fact that the Gru Family has to figure out how they need to adapt to a new neighborhood. I really enjoyed the journey that Gru goes on with his infant son Gru Jr. Where at the beginning of the movie, Gru Jr. Hates his father and then eventually starts to like his father at he end of the movie. And finally, the minions are still a lot of fun with their insane antics.

Mixed for Despicable Me 4 (2024): The main issue that I have with this movie is the screenplay and that's primarily because the two screenwriters of this movie are Mike White, the creator of The White Lotus (2021-) and Ken Daurio, the screenwriter of multiple Illumination Animated Movies. And while I do enjoy what both of these guys bring to the table with their writing, their styles of writing do not feel compatible with each other in term of how they write their characters, construct their stories, the tone that they're going for and the themes that they want to explore. It literally feels the movie is trying to figure out what it wants to be throughout the runtime.

Negatives for Despicable Me 4 (2024): Similar to Despicable Me 3 (2017), Dr. Nefario is not in this movie, with the exception of a small cameo. And finally, the villains of both Maxime Le Mal and Valentina are by far the weakest in the franchise which is bizarre because they are voiced by Will Ferrell and Sofia Vergara respectively.

Overall, Despicable Me 4 (2024) is still a fun movie within this franchise but we've reached the point where this franchise is starting to feel played out and that's not a good thing.

Gru, Lucy, Margo, Edith, and Agnes welcome a new member to the family, Gru Jr., who is intent on tormenting his dad. Gru faces a new nemesis in Maxime Le Mal and his girlfriend Valentina, and the family is forced to go on the run.

For what it's made for, it's a pretty good film. It's designed to provide entertainment, laughter, and a mental escape, and it definitely succeeds at that. The story is of course a bit lacking and the sequence of events are pretty predictable yet still filled with humour and action. When you watch a Minions movie or 'Despicable Me,' you look for the comedy, and although this one is filled with joke, unfortunately not all of them were good ones. Another observation: as we progressed from the first installment to this one, the minions' role has become less significant, which disappoints me since they were the reason I initially enjoyed these films. The voice cast remains incredibly strong, with accents and tones perfectly enhancing the movie's comedic aspect.

Score:6.5/10.