It has been seven years since the last “Despicable Me” movie was in theaters, and fourteen years since the first film was released. Now, Gru and his minions return in Despicable Me 4 to further the adventures of the bad guy turned good guy through the influence of his makeshift family.
Gru’s latest adventure picks up with Gru still working alongside the Anti-Villain League when an old nemesis – Maxime Le Mal (Will Ferrell) – escapes from prison in order to take revenge on Gru for repeatedly thwarting his nefarious plans. The focal point of Maxime’s newest scheme is to kidnap Gru’s son – Gru Jr. – and turning the boy’s allegiance away from Gru. The threat that Maxime presents force Gru and his family into the equivalent of the “villain” witness protection program where his daughters are subject to navigating a new school and all of those particular pratfalls. But the main focus here is the relationship between Gru and his son and how Maxime exploits that. From there the film becomes a surprisingly effective exercise in male-bonding as well as a refreshing look at how much a dad can love his son.
Working from a script penned by Mike White and Ken Daurio, directors Chris Renaud and Patrick Delage deliver an economic and well-paced film that never feels like it drags or hits a narrative speed bump causing the focus on the film’s kinetic energy to disparate. This is, of course, aided by the crisp editing work courtesy of Tiffany Hillkurtz.
As has always been the case in this series, the voice work by all involved is well executed and everyone plays their parts to the fullest. Every actor seems to be all in and having a pretty good time with the film and that spills over to the audience.
While some aspects of Despicable Me 4 may feel as though they were handled more effectively in previous installments, the overall tone and spirit of this film makes it a worthwhile endeavor and a worthy addition to the series.
| Producer: | Christopher Meledandri, Brett Hoffman |
| Release Date: | July 3, 2024 |
| Running Time: | 95 minutes |
| Starring: | Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Will Ferrell, Pierre Coffin, Joey King, Sofía Vergara, Stephen Colbert, Miranda Cosgrove, Chloe Fineman, Steve Coogan, Chris Renaud, Dana Gaier, Madison Polan |
| User Rating: | |
| Writer: | Mike White, Ken Daurio |
| MPAA Rating: | PG (for action and rude humor) |
| Director: | Chris Renaud, Patrick Delage |
| Distributor: | Universal Pictures |
| External Info: | Official Site / Facebook / Instagram / X (Twitter) / #DM4 |
