Movie Review Despicable Me 3

Despicable Me 3

Directed by Kyle Balda, Pierre Coffin, Eric Guillon

Written by Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio

Starring Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Trey Parker

Release Date June 30th, 2017

Despicable Me 3: A Study in Mediocrity

Despicable Me 3 is a film that embodies mediocrity. It's so unremarkable, so devoid of any distinguishing characteristics, that it's challenging to find the motivation to write about it. The film's mediocrity is so profound that it's more taxing to find the energy to articulate words about it than to analyze its lackluster qualities.

The story picks up with Gru, the former supervillain turned hero, and his wife Lucy, as they pursue the latest supervillain, Balthazar Bratt, a washed-up child star stuck in the 80s who uses bubble gum and Rubik's cubes as weapons. The premise is mildly amusing for a few minutes but quickly becomes tiresome and forgettable.

As if one uninspired plot wasn't enough, the film introduces Gru's twin brother, Dru. The humor surrounding Dru relies on the fact that he's physically fit, has a full head of hair, and is inept at villainy. The film also attempts to mine humor from Gru's mother's cruel decision to conceal the existence of his brother and her blatant favoritism. The addition of a creepy subplot involving Gru's mother and her inappropriate behavior towards her male swim coaches further contributes to the film's lack of comedic success.

The Minions, those ubiquitous yellow creatures, are relegated to their own subplot. They abandon Gru to return to a life of crime, which leads to their imprisonment and a couple of musical numbers. Their inclusion feels obligatory, driven by the need to maintain their marketability and ensure the continued production of Minion-related merchandise.

The original Despicable Me possessed a certain charm that stemmed from the heartwarming story of a villain's redemption through his love for a group of adorable orphans. The film featured compelling characters, clear stakes, and a nuanced perspective on Gru's character, who was ultimately a good person in need of affection.

However, the sequel squandered its potential by prioritizing the commercialization of the Minions over meaningful storytelling. By the third film, any semblance of charm or heart has vanished, leaving behind mere competence. Despicable Me 3 isn't actively offensive, but it's not funny either. The animation is passable but unremarkable.

The film's most significant flaw is its sheer existence. The Despicable Me franchise has devolved into a cynical marketing ploy, a vehicle for selling toys and other merchandise. The immense talent and resources involved in the film's production are now dedicated to peddling low-quality products.

In contrast, even when Pixar succumbs to commercialism, there's a sense of effort and artistry in their work. Cars 3, despite its flaws, demonstrates a genuine care for its characters and boasts masterful animation. In the world of Illumination, the studio behind Despicable Me, characters are reduced to mere commodities, while animators and voice actors labor to deliver a product that meets the bare minimum of acceptability.

Movie Review Despicable Me 3

Despicable Me 3 (2017)

Directed by Pierre Coffin, Kyle Balda

Written by Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio 

Starring Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Trey Parker, Miranda Cosgrove, Jenny Slate, Julie Andrews 

Release Date June 30th, 2017 

Despicable Me 3 is so wildly mediocre, so achingly adequate, and so puzzlingly prosaic, I can barely bring myself to write about it. In all honesty, I have spent more research time for this review googling synonyms for mediocre than I have considering anything related to the production of Despicable Me 3. The latest bit of barely above average animation from the company Illumination is so very much just OK that just trying to find the energy to type words about it is taxing.

Despicable Me 3 picks up the story of former super-villain Gru (Steve Carell) as he continues his career as a newly formed hero. Alongside his now wife Lucy (Kristen Wiig), Gru is hot on the trail of the newest super-villain, a stuck in the 80’s former child star named Balthazar Bratt (Trey Parker), who uses gum and rubix cubes as super-weapons. It’s a clever idea for about 5 or 6 minutes and then it becomes tiresome and then forgettable.

Ah but don’t worry, Despicable Me 3 has a second uninspired plot. In this one we find that Gru has a twin brother named Dru. The joke of Dru is that he’s in good shape, has hair, and is bad at crime. That’s it, that’s the joke. On top of that, we’re supposed to find it hilarious when Gru’s mother cruelly hides his brother from him before telling him that he was her second pick. Hilarious familial cruelty you guys! Oh, and Gru’s mom is an old perv with two male swim coaches she leers at creepily, you know, to entertain the kids. (Yes, I remember that joke has been in the other films; it was creepy and unfunny then as well.

Read my full length review at Geeks.Media 

Movie Review: Despicable Me

Despicable Me (2010) 

Directed by Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin

Written by Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio 

Starring Steve Carell, Russell Brand, Jason Segal, 

Release Date July 9th, 2010 

Published July 8th, 2010 

Gru (Steve Carell), the star of “Despicable Me” is a super villain. We know this because he is dressed all in black. He has a bald head, pale skin and a villainous pointy nose. He carries a freeze ray which he uses to get to the head of the line at Starbucks and he's mean to children. If Gru were anymore the bad guy he would be petting a cat a la Blofeld and twisting his mustache.

When the Great Pyramid goes missing Gru's mother (Julie Andrews) calls to congratulate him and he is forced to reveal he wasn't the big bad guy who stole it. Turns out, there is a new Super villain on the scene and he is stealing Gru's headlines. Don't worry though, Gru has a plan to get his place on the front pages back, with the help of his evil assistant Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand) and his hundreds Banana Slug looking Minions, Gru plans to steal the Moon. All he needs are the funds.

In a scene that earns the biggest laughs in “Despicable Me,” Gru heads for the Bank of Evil to pitch his Moon stealing idea. Keep an eye out for one terrifically fun toss off sight gag at the Bank that is both timely and hilarious. To get his funds the bank needs Gru to first steal a top secret shrink ray that he can use to shrink the moon to carry on size.

Oh, but that new villain in town, he's on the trail of the shrink ray and the moon as well. His name is Vector (Jason Segal), really Victor, but he thinks Vector is much more evil and when he gets the shrink ray, he puts Gru in a desperate situation. Through some strange and evil circumstances, Gru hatches a plan to steal from Vector involving three cute little orphans.

You can guess where this story is going and likely where it will end up. Three cute girls humanize the heartless villain yada, yada, yada, Pixar level storytelling this is not. What “Despicable Me” lacks in intellect it more than makes up for with big laughs. The directorial team Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud do a terrific job playing off of classic movie super villains from James Bond to Superman. 

Parody is “Despicable Me's comfort zone but a healthy amount of cartoon slapstick, often involving the mumbling, bumbling minions, also earns big laughs. The voice cast brings a few of their own laughs as Steve Carell's Eastern European growl, Russell Brand's throaty Brit, and Jason Segal's nerd voice each has a moment to gurgle a good line. 

”Despicable Me” doesn't have the ingenuity of the Pixar cartoons but it accomplishes the simple goal of earning big laughs. The film has heart, great characters and tremendous voice acting. It also has arguably the best soundtrack of 2010. Pharrell Williams of NERD engineers a big beat Greek chorus to Gru and the girls' adventure and it's the perfect score for the big laughs and big fun of “Despicable Me.”