Review of Despicable Me 3 (2017) by Kj P — 10 Jan 2018

It had taken me a while to finally view this third installment in the Despicable Me franchise because Minions more than gave me fatigue. I loved the original film and even enjoyed the second one quite a bit, but Minions was honestly the worst possible thing they could've done for this franchise. Sadly, I had lost all hope until I found myself chuckling throughout the trailers for Despicable Me 3, but I've never been more wrong. Although these movies continue to make loads of cash, the quality seems to progressively get worse. The uniqueness of this franchise has officially been thrown out the window. Yes, these movies will continue getting made due to money, but if this installment is any indication, quality is clearly not what matters to them anymore.

Following Gru after he has proven himself to be a great father and a great man in general, he and his new lover work for an organization that brings down villains. As a new villain is on the horizon in Balthazar Bratt, Gru must do everything in his power to take him down. Adding in a layer of family, he also discovers that he has a brother who shares his original need to be a villain. Combining all of these story elements pretty much sends this film into an endless repetition, providing the same character arcs that the first two films already offered. This film is a jumbled mess in terms of doing anything new with its characters and when it comes down to it, it's just not all that funny either.

The clever slapstick humor of the first two films is truly what made them so enjoyable and while this movie definitely attempts to recapture that magic, the slapstick just comes off as forced and the childish humor is cranked up to a thousand. I found this movie to be much more for children than the previous films were. The meshing of adult humor worked very well and could play well for a much broader audience. There are a few laugh-out-loud moments here, but they're too few and far between. Sadly though, aside from a few solid jokes, the only great thing about this film is the animation.

Many animated films can be called great in terms of how they look, but that's not enough to warrant praise as a whole. Despicable Me 3 is beautifully animated as always and the journey the film takes you on is fun enough to experience once, but I'm finding myself remembering everything that happened throughout this film with ease because it was so incredibly predictable. I have no desire to ever revisit this installment. Quite frankly, I can't even begin to describe my disappointment with this film in comparison with its predecessors.

In conclusion, this movie may be a fine watch for young kids, but I won't ever find myself recommending this film to anyone over the age of ten, because the humor is just too juvenile, unlike the jokes that made the first two so memorable. It's not like this is one of the worst animated movies I've ever seen, but when I find myself laughing at one or two jokes throughout a 90-minute film, in which its predecessors had me chuckling consistently, then there's a big issue.

Despicable Me 3 has great voice talents as always, but none of them are utilized to their full potential this time around, especially with the addition of the very funny Trey Parker. I thought his character was going to be far more enjoyable than just another average villain, but his tropes got tired pretty quick. Overall, this movie fails to provide anything new for the franchise and therefore sort of kills any future excitement I would've wished to have for the coming films. Maybe Minions 2 will turn that around? I doubt it...