Review of Despicable Me 3 (2017) by Xander K — 20 Oct 2017

"Oh brother indeed, there's another "Despicable Me" movie?".

Movie Review: Despicable Me 3.

Date Viewed: July 2 2017.

Directed By Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda and co-directed by Eric Guillon.

Written By Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, Based on characters created by Sergio Pablos.

Featuring the voices of Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Trey Parker, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, Nev Scharrel, Steve Coogan, Jenny Slate, Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud and Julie Andrews.

Oh brother indeed, there's another "Despicable Me" movie? Gru and his minions are back but they don't share much screen this time around. In "Despicable Me 3", Gru finds out that he has a twin brother who has hair and he's maybe thinking about going back to villainy and he also goes head-to-head with another international super-villain, he's a former TV child star named Balthazar Bratt (voiced by Trey Parker). He became a super bad guy by simply adopting the same villainous persona he played on TV and he carries machine-guns that shoot out bubble-gum.

The addition of Trey Parker is refreshing but this animated sequel is far from refreshing. It's just more of same but with subplots that don't go anywhere and less screen time for the Minions. Just like this summer's other mediocre animated three-quel "Cars 3", "Despicable Me 3" has some breezy stuff but the jokes never land. Following the events of the last film, Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) is now an agent working for the Anti-Villain League with his wife Lucy (voiced by Kristen Wiig). After stopping Bratt from nearly stealing a very valuable pink diamond, Gru and Lucy get laid off by the Anti-Villain League's new director Valerie Da Vinci (voiced by Jenny Slate) for failing to apprehend Bratt.

With no jobs, Gru and Lucy reluctantly tell their daughters about their termination from the Anti-Villain League but they assure them that they will hold new jobs in the near future. Meanwhile, Mel (voiced by Pierre Coffin) and the rest of the Minions leave Gru because he still won't return to villainy. As the Minions hopefully try to find a new villainous master they can serve under, Gru gets approached by a mysterious confidant who tells him that he is the Butler of his long-lost twin brother Dru (who's also voiced by Steve Carell).

Upon hearing this news, Gru and his family travel to the sort of European country known as Freedonia and he's anxious to meet him. When he does finally meet him, Gru is shocked that Dru looks exactly like him but with hair, massive wealth and he has a strange affection for pigs. Dru's fashionably flamboyant personality is way different from Gru's and he really wants to become a major supervillain just like his brother but Gru is reluctant to go back to his villainous ways.

Meanwhile back in America, the Minions get arrested for trespassing a talent show set and all of them get sent to prison. Bratt also manages to retrieve the pink diamond and he intends to use it to power up his giant robot. Once his huge robot becomes active, Bratt will use it to destroy Hollywood as revenge for terminating his show as well as tarnishing his child star image.

Despite it being three Minions better "Cars 3", "Despicable Me 3" is not one of the better animated films out there. It is a scattershot sequel with (as I said before) subplots that never go anywhere. For example, the eldest of the three daughters, Margo (voiced by Miranda Cosgrove) kisses a chubby kid, he gets smitten with her and then the next day, he tells her that they're engaged and we never hear from him again. The middle daughter, Edith (voiced by Dana Gaier) gets nothing to do, the youngest daughter, Agnes (voiced by Nev Scharrel) gets involved in a silly storyline about trying to find a real unicorn and Lucy worries about not being a good mother to Margo, Edith and Agnes.

Co-directors Pierre Coffin (who also does the Minions) and Kyle Balda never find their footing in this candy-colored and zany universe and they lose track on what made Gru and the Minions so special and hilarious in the first place. Completely out of original ideas, "Despicable Me 3" just feels tired and forgettable.