Despicable Me 4 Review
Despicable Me 4 (2024) Film Review, a movie directed by Chris Renaud and Patrick Delage, written by Mike White and Ken Daurio and starring Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Pierre Coffin, Will Ferrell, Sofia Vergara, Chris Renaud, Dana Gaier, Miranda Cosgrove, Joey King, Madison Skyy Polan, Laraine Newman, Steve Coogan, John DiMaggio, Stephen Colbert, Chloe Fineman, Brad Ableson and Cathy Cavadini.
Despicable Me 4 is, hands down, the best movie in the Despicable Me/Minions series. What makes the new movie special is its terrific animation and funny story line. This movie doesn’t take itself too seriously but, at the same time, it has a plot that will keep viewers in suspense. There are a number of hysterical sequences that play like gangbusters and the addition of some new Mega Minion characters is the icing on the cake. Let’s not mention the hilarious rendition of the old Tears for Fears song lyrics “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Gru and company at the film’s conclusion.
Steve Carell once again serves as the voice of Gru who goes undercover to take down super criminal Maxime Le Mal (voice of Will Ferrell) as the film begins. Maxime wants to use cockroaches to conquer the world but Gru gets him arrested. Maxime is sent to a maximum security prison as Gru, his wife, Lucy (Kisten Wiig) and their kids go on with their lives. Gru and Lucy have a new baby who doesn’t seem to have taken a liking to Gru quite yet but daddy tries to make the baby feel comfortable around him. The family structure is disrupted when it is revealed Maxime has escaped from jail to get revenge on Gru for capturing him. What’s a family to do? They are put into protection in a home in the suburbs where Gru’s real identity is soon found out by the neighbors’ daughter, Poppy (a hilarious Joey King) who wants to pull off a heist of her own.
In the interim, Lucy goes to work undercover as a hairdresser but she soon finds out that she doesn’t have much of a talent for it. In a wonderfully funny scene, Lucy is shopping at the supermarket with the kids when a woman whose hair Lucy ruined comes after Lucy with a vengeance. The scene culminates as Lucy throws money to the cashier while fleeing and making a quick exit with the kids intact.
The kids (besides the baby) are well-voiced and entertaining characters. Edith (Dana Gaier), Agnes (Madison Skyy Polan) and Margo (Miranda Cosgrove) are super entertaining to watch. Margo won’t lie about her new name (which is her alias to avoid trouble with Maxime) to a Karate teacher and hilarity ensues which is typical for a movie in this series.
Sofia Vergara as Valentina, Maxime’s partner in crime is funny too as she asks Maxime to get her a Slurpee at a gas station when he goes inside after his credit card doesn’t work. Other hilarious situations involve Gru getting invited to participate in a tennis game by Poppy’s parents. Poppy invites Gru to her secret tree house to try to give Gru the logistics of the heist she wants to pull off. Gru has to climb up the tree, though, in a hilarious turn of events that involves jumping on a trampoline.
The newly selected group of Minions who are beefed up to become crime stoppers are super humorous. One of them is made of brick and looks like a miniature Thing from the Fantastic Four movies while another super Mega Minion has a cone head. There’s also one who looks like a banana. These minions get into mischief and screw up at first when they get out of training but will ultimately become assistants to Gru in his mission to stop Maxime.
Steve Carell gets almost all the film’s best lines. Gru is awkward as anyone who has seen any of these pictures knows. Carell’s juicy line delivery is one of the best parts of the movie. As Gru tries to dress like a normal person and blend in, there are a number of fish-out-of-water sequences that will have audiences in stitches.
Directed by Chris Renaud and Patrick Delage, Despicable Me 4 is a wonderfully entertaining time at the movies. Wiig is so very funny as Lucy who is renamed with the alias Blanche. The whole team from the previous picture that has been assembled for the voice-over work is once again in top form. Joey King’s Poppy is a fine addition with King doing her character’s wicked side to perfection. Poppy may not be as bad as she seems from the outset but I’ll leave you to discover the events of the picture.
The Minions can be annoying on their own. The last picture they were in as the stars was close to unwatchable. As co-stars in Despicable Me 4, they never outwear their welcome. One of them gets stuck in a vending machine with goofy but entertaining results.
Despicable Me 4 is probably going to be the most fun you’ll have at the movies this summer. Carell and Wiig really have a ball voicing their lead characters and Ferrell as the bad guy is perfect. The jokes and animation have such superb attention to detail that parents will enjoy this film just as much as the kids will. Look for the closing musical number to really have audiences dancing in the aisles. Everybody may want to “rule the world” but whoever wants to see a good animated movie should check out this inspired new sequel.
Rating: 8/10
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