Despicable Me 3 wants to be a big, loud family comedy about a man trying to be a better dad. It mostly succeeds at being a big, loud family comedy. What it fails at is giving the plot a reason to exist.
The movie brings back Steve Carell as Gru, now working for the CIA after years of villainy. He meets Balthazar Bratt, a washed-up actor played by Steve Carell again, who is convinced he deserves a comeback. The setup is fine. The execution is not.
Trailer, via Illumination.
Gru’s New Job
Gru joins the CIA to catch a villain named Balthazar Bratt, a former child star who has turned bitter. The premise is clever enough. It just isn’t followed through with much care.
Carell plays both roles, which could have been a fun twist. Instead, the movie treats Bratt as a cartoonish villain who speaks in high-pitched whines and throws tantrums. His scheme involves stealing a moon rock, which is a plot point so silly it reads as a shrug.
“It’s a moon rock.”
That’s basically the whole plan. And it’s never explained why anyone would want one. The movie doesn’t bother.
The Minions
The minions remain the best reason to watch. They steal scenes with their nonsense noises and their general incompetence. A subplot involving them being recruited by the CIA is genuinely funny, and it’s the only part that feels like the writers cared about it.
The rest of the movie is a slog. The jokes land maybe half the time. The pacing drags. The villains are paper-thin. There’s a running gag about Gru’s ex-wife Lucy that goes on too long. The climax, involving a giant robot and a moon-rock-powered weapon, is pure nonsense.
It’s not terrible. It’s just not very good.
Hard Numbers
- Title: Despicable Me 3
- Release: 2017
- Director: Pierre Coffin, Kyle Balda
- Score: 4.9/10
The movie is at its best when it stops worrying about the plot and lets the minions run wild. A scene where the minions accidentally break into a CIA headquarters is genuinely hilarious. Another where they try to make a cake is charming in a way the main story never manages.
But those moments are the exception, not the rule. Most of Despicable Me 3 feels like it was made in a hurry, with jokes thrown together without much thought. The voice acting is fine, the animation is sharp, the jokes are just thin.
There are three films in this series, and this is the weakest. It’s a step down from the earlier entries, which had stronger plots and sharper humor. The franchise has lost some of its edge.
Despicable Me 3 is a forgettable entry in a beloved series. It has a few laughs and a great supporting act in the minions, but the main story falls apart at almost every turn. It’s not a disaster, but it’s a disappointment.
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