(spoiler free)
Love them or hate them there’s simply no getting away from the little yellow dungaree clad creatures known as the minions. First appearing in the original ‘Despicable Me’ back in 2010. Since then they’ve reappeared in the sequel and even been the stars of their very own movie. Now they’ve been reunited with Gru & Lucy for ‘Despicable Me 3’, is this cause for celebration though or is this franchise running low on it’s villainous steam?
Steve Carell has always been the best thing about these movies, his wonderful voice performance as Gru is consistently funny and I’m glad to say that it’s no different here. However, he has double the work this time round as he also voices Gru’s twin brother, Dru. This was a clever narrative move which allowed for much comedy, Carell manages to create convincing chemistry between both of his characters. Anytime the pair shared the screen laughs are guaranteed. Kristen Wiig also returns as Gru’s wife, Lucy. She’s somewhat sidelined in this installment with an uninteresting and underdeveloped character arc. Wiig is still fine in the role but the material never matches her potential. The most entertaining thing about this sequel though has to be it’s villain, Balthazar Bratt. This 80s child actor turned super villian was a lot of fun and the creativity surrounding his design was incredibly playful. The throwbacks to decades past will definitely keep the adults entertained with plenty on offer to amuse the kids too. Bratt is probably the best villain the series has seen to date.
The introduction of these successful new characters kept the narrative pretty fresh to a certain extent. However there were too many separate plot points going on, this made the film feel over-crowded and a little hectic. There’s no less than five major storylines present here and whilst none of them are inherently bad the inclusion of so many did slightly effect the movie. However, if you enjoyed mischievous fun loving tone of the previous films you’ll be sure to have a blast once more. The inclusion of gadgets, cars & super villain hideouts will never not appeal to a particular demographic, which I may or may not be a part of. Kids and grown ups who haven’t quite grown up will lap this up, especially when mixed with such effortless comedy.
So whilst the narrative needed to have more confidence to focus on one or two plot points instead of so many ‘Despicable Me 3’ is still a great time. It’s more of what has come before with some fresh ideas. Carell yet again shows off his natural talent for comedy and the new characters added here only help to contribute more of this. Futhermore, with such fun action and a shoulder shimmying 80s soundtrack to accompany it ‘Despicable Me 3’ is a welcome alternative to many of this years more disappointing summer blockbusters.
Rating – 8/10
Question: Who’s your all time favourite animated movie villain?
(Leave your answers in the comments section below!)
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