Despicable Me 3 |
  • USA • 2017 • 89m •    • Directed by: Kyle Balda, Pierre Coffin, Eric Guillon. • Starring: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Trey Parker, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, Nev Scharrel, Pierre Coffin, Steve Coogan, Julie Andrews, Jenny Slate, Michael Beattie, Andy Nyman, Adrian Ciscato. • Music by: Heitor Pereira, Pharrell Williams.      After he is fired from the Anti-Villain League for failing to take down the latest bad guy to threaten humanity, Gru finds himself in the midst of a major identity crisis. But when a mysterious stranger shows up to inform Gru that he has a long-lost twin brother-a brother who desperately wishes to follow in his twin's despicable footsteps-one former super-villain will rediscover just how good it feels to be bad.
|
Trailers:
| Length: | Languages: | Subtitles: |
Review:
This movie is far superior to that abomination called 'Minions'. I do suppose that slow and painful death would be better than that 'movie'. So it definitely gets points for not being Minions. That said, it is far inferior to Despicable Me 1 & 2. The cast is the same, the jokes are the same, the animation is the same; it just lacks heart. The first film had the girls, the second had Lucy - this has his brother but they don't explore the emotional aspect of that anymore than Transformers explores the deeper meaning of life and existence. If you wanna zone out for 90 minutes and let your young child be absorbed in bright colours, I recommend this movie. It's a good time waster but that is all it is. It has no purpose and that is a massive flaw of the movie. Not to say the rest of it is spectacular.
The story, for example, is very weak. Don't give me that rubbish that this is a 'kid's movie'. It's animated; there is a difference. Pixar has literally created a template for how animated movies should appease all audiences, and 23 of this trilogy stuck to that template. This doesn't. The story is nonsensical and just has no rhyme or reason to it. It isn't logical and it doesn't contain enough meat to make it work. Clearly very swiftly thrown together and I expect more that that. The ending was also pretty childish but I guess it is fine for kids.
One thing that I usually demand in animation is a good moral. Morals that affect both children and adults equally are the best kind. This movie lacks a moral entirely. They hint at a possible moral involving family and brotherhood but they never commit to it. That makes the entire viewing experience pointless. Kids should watch for enjoyment but also gain something from the experience. No moral makes this entire movie seem pointless and that isn't what your film should ever feel like.
Stevel Carell is the only reason these movies are even remotely watchable. He's found the fine line between funny and obnoxious, and balances that tightrope perfectly. Carell is consistently funny throughout and maintains the glue that holds it together. Trey Parker was excellent as Bratt and was easily the best part of the movie. I adored every single scene he was in and he turned it from a plane crash into a train wreck, so a little big let horrific. Kristen Wig was good as Lucy and I did like the whole mother subplot. Nev Scharell was good as Agnes but her entire subplot was completely pointless. Miranda Cosgrove had negative seconds dedicated to her in this movie thus I shall not praise nor criticise her. Dana Gaier was fine in her limited screen time but that is another flaw of the film. The girls had no screen time. Agnes had a minor subplot, yes, but that meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. They were the heart and soul of the first movie yet had no time to blossom in this movie. If they gave a lot of focus to the relationship between either Gru and Dru, or Gru and Lucy but they don't and that is why this movie fails. I was very disappointed.
What can every sane human being agree on? Minions are fine in minute doses. This was confirmed with 2015's Minions but Illumination saw it another way. They saw the critical panning of that atrocity to be a cry for 'we want MORE Minions'. This statement is both absurd and god damn ludicrous. Any human being who wishes for more of those yellow faced turnips has a special place for them reserved in hell because they are the bane of humanity! I guarantee if he was still with us, Hitler would have been a Minions fan. They're that despicable(pun intended). Stop shoving Minions down our throats. We DO NOT want more of them. Please. Stop.
Technically speaking, I really like this movie. The colour pallet is very bright and illuminated(pun intended) that it just makes your eyes fixate to the screen. I imagine kids will appreciate the bright colours a lot, also. Models on the various characters were fun and inventive and fit well with the more exaggerated view of reality. Some nice shots and slithers of cinematography are sprinkled in there for good measure as well. As a whole, I was very, very pleased with the animation in this movie.
Humour is a completely subjective thing and I won't completely criticise or praise a movie based on it. That said, I very rarely chuckled in this movie. I never gave a full laugh but some kids in the audience were laughing beyond belief so I guess they hit there target audience. I frequently smiled(and even chuckled) at Carrel and Parker but after them there was little for me to enjoy. They were the leads so it is fair they get the most jokes but even then none of them made me burst out laughing. Parker was easily the funniest part of the movie for me but the visual comedy he used probably impressed adults more than kids which I guess could be considered a flaw due to the villain not appealing to kids as much but I liked it so it gets a gold star in my book.
Overall, I can recommend this movie if you want 90 minutes rest and are fine with your kids being absorbed by bright colours. I don't recommend this movie if your not in that position because it is lazy, nonsensical and unfunny. It lacks any heart to make it worthwhile and, aside from the animation, I cannot say anything really stood out. I'll rate it a disappointing 3 Moonwalks out of 10.
Review by Ethan Jones from the Internet Movie Database.
Featurettes:
| Length: | Languages: | Subtitles: |
Off-Site Reviews:
Additional Off-Site Reviews:
Movie Database