Review by John Delia, Sr.
The “Despicable Me†series that includes “Minions†never seems to get tiring as they extend their comedy one more time with Despicable Me 3 opening this weekend. The key to the filmmaker’s success is the handling of the characters and inserting them into the animated movie with a plan in mind.
That plan consists of starting with a little comedy involving the Minions, then working into some intense action that leads to a champion who either succeeds or fails. In the meantime there’s multiple stories going on with each one targeting certain audience members. Sounds complicated, well the best comedy adventure is intricate and Illumination Studios does that very well.
The lovable characters are back again with a new twist on Gru’s (voice Steve Carell) employment. It seems that the government has hired him as a partner for Lucy (Kristen Wiig) in the secret service following their marriage. Gru, now an agent looking for the bad guys instead of being one himself, seems to have found his goal in life.
Recovering the largest diamond in the world from super thief Balthazar Bratt (voice Trey Parker), but not arresting him however, wasn’t good enough for Valerie Da Vinci (voice Jenny Slate) the new agency director. So in a fit of rage she kicks Gru and Lucy to the curb leaving them without a job. On top of all that the Minions have turned a cold shoulder because Gru has now become a softy.
Lost and forlorn Gru gets word that he has a twin brother name Dru (voice also Steve Carell) and goes to mom (voice Julie Andrews) to find out why she never told him. He meets his twin and the two hit it off, especially because Dru wants to be a bad guy to continue the family tradition. Something he was not allowed when he was a child. In the meantime, Lucy has been trying to be a mother to Margo (voice Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (voice Dana Gaier) and Agnes (voice Nev Scharrel), but striking out. Unfortunately Margo, her biggest critic, has been very little help, but that’s all about to change.
So sets the scene for a lot of laughter from a number of ridiculous situations in the world of Despicable Dru. Among them are a sneaky way to steal back the largest diamond, Agnes finds a new pet, Lucy becomes a mama bear and a little harmony in the jailhouse featuring “Kevin and the hundred minionsâ€.
But, it’s not all roses for Despicable Me 3. While it’s better than Despicable Me 2, it lacks the surprises of the first film. So we have to take the good with the bad and accept the repetition as if it were the first time through, the action with a lot of nonsense and the kiddie heartwarming scenes with less tears of joy. That said, if you like the series so far then you won’t want to miss this chapter I have dubbed “family mattersâ€.
Despicable Me 3 has been rated PG by the MPAA for action and rude humor. Most of the humor is tongue in cheek and the very discourteous should go over the youngster’s heads (or at least I hope so).
FINAL ANALYSIS: If you are already hooked on the franchise or have never seen the wild and crazy characters on the big screen, “Go, Go see it my darlings and have a wonderful timeâ€; something Gru’s mom would say with a Romanian accent. (3.5 of 5 stars)
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Trey Parker, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, Nev Scharrel, Steve Coogan, Jenny Slate and Julie Andrews
Directed by: Pierre Coffin, Kyle Balda
Genre: Comedy, Animation, Family
MPAA Rating: PG for action and rude humor
Running Time: 1 hr. 30 min.
Release Date: June 30, 2017
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Released in: 2D, 3D
The comments within this review are the critic’s expressed opinions.