Movie review: ‘Despicable Me 3’

“Oh brother” is right, as the third installment of the hit franchise, “Despicable Me 3”–how cleverly named– shows promise that the franchise may include more installments down the line. The movie covers the action surrounding both Gru’s (voiced by Steve Carell) and Lucy’s (Kristen Wiig) struggle to capture Evil Bratt (Trey Parker) as well as Lucy’s struggles to become a mother to Gru’s three girls.

Much of the plot focused on capturing Evil Bratt and kindling Gru’s relationship with his long-lost twin and quite frankly, the quality of the movie kept flirting above mediocrity. Younger audiences surely were pleased by the cartoonish violence while older audiences surely could take pleasure in all the ’80s references. However, not even the minions could make up for the lack of extraordinaire.

Illumination clearly knows that those familiar yellow minions are cash cows when it comes to movies. Yet, it seemed like they had less action time with their presence less attached to the plot compared to the other movies.

Another piece of criticism revolves around the fact that the heavier action and silliness in this movie distracted a lot from the characters’ development. Many people really laughed more at the silly chases and explosions than appreciating any of the twin’s bonding moments. And while that may be the usual trope, the “Despicable Me” franchise shows no sign of slowing down.

This then should trouble others: At what point, will the Minions fail to entertain? At what point, do action scenes overwhelm the story? At what point, will “Despicable Me” run out of ideas?

Despicable Me 3 (2017)
Dru and Gru (both voiced by Steve Carell)
Credit: Illumination Entertainment/Universal