Despicable Me 4 Review - Somehow Keeps The Minions Magic Alive

Despicable Me 4 Review Movie Talkies

Despicable Me 4 Review: Chris Renaud brings the 6th installment in the Despicable Me franchise, with Gru, his new baby, and minions becoming "mega minions." From the trailer, we had this idea that there is a scientific experiment and minions are transformed into beasts, but the actual film is much different and about many more things. The mega minions are fun but are wasted, just like many other subplots of the film. It could have definitely served better, but nevertheless, it was a family entertainer—half kiddish fun and half adult fun.Undercover Anti-Villain League (AVL) agent Gru attends a class reunion at his former high school, Lycée Pas Bon, where he reencounters Maxime Le Mal and arrests him. Maxime swears to exterminate Gru and escapes from jail. Gru and his family are advised to shift to a safe house, while Maxine is planning to kidnap Gru's new baby. Gru and his family move to a new place, much to everybody's reluctance, and find themselves alone and bored. To add some adventure to it, a neighbour girl takes Gru on a heist, along with, by default, two minions and a baby. You must be thinking about the third minion, right? Well, he was asleep in a cooler. Another wasted thing. The heist, followed by Maxime's return, and the obvious face-off between these two are what take the story to the finish.Despicable Me 4 has a good screenplay, as it doesn't make you feel bored. Those 90 minutes are quick and easy, much to everybody's concern; a few laughs and a few flaws walk hand-in-hand. It could have definitely been much more funny and mature, though. Apparently, it's a family film and has been followed by the same audience over the years. That section also includes kids, and that's why Chris Renud and company had to be so thin and simple about a few things. It doesn't suit critics at all. Do we care? I guess no—if the box office numbers speak. If they don't, then it's definitely time to shift gears for the franchise.Despicable Me has been through so many cliches already that nothing is really left off. That's why you see some spoofs coming in to serve fresh dishes. Marvel has the Fantastic Four, and DM 4 has its fantastic five mega minions. I was a kid when Tobey Maguire split his spider web and stopped the train, and now I am an adult. I saw one of the mega minions doing the same—only to go wrong. A few cheek-friendly laughs like this keep you engaged, but that won't let you overlook the number of flaws it has. The antagonist deserved more space, and the cast seemed overcrowded. These are the basic flaws we are talking about, and I don't want to get into much detail since the film was never supposed to be that intelligent.The voice cast of Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Pierre Coffin, Joey King, Miranda Cosgrove, Steve Coogan, Sofía Vergara, Renaud, Madison Polan, Dana Gaier, Chloe Fineman, Stephen Colbert, and Will Ferrell does well, as expected. The visuals aren't breathtaking, but fine. Catching it on the X screen didn't help much, but I definitely miss the Minions (2015) kind of magic. It's too quick to absorb, and maybe that's why it feels too short. Unlike the previous films, this one focuses more on the crowd's entertainment than the story. That might suit many.Chris Renaud does more of a fan service than being creative and maverick to set new examples. The film follows all the given templates to deliver a time-pass popcorn entertainer. It's just that we are getting used to it, even with cute animation images. That new baby is so cute, but don't tell me you haven't seen such cute babies before. Somebody has a panda; somebody has a cat; somebody does it with toys; and some do it with robbers. Illumination does it with a hero-like baddie, that's all. Go and have fun if you know what to expect and not to expect more than that. The wait of 7 years, however, deserved a better one, of course.