Despicable Me 4

Gru and his Minions are back to take over theatres with Despicable Me 4. This time, they're supposed to battle cockroach-man Maxime Le Mal (Will Ferrell). But he's not their greatest enemy; the imperfect script is. I'm sure kids will love the zaniness, and while I had some fun with it, I still have some issues. Let's see what they are.

Gru (Steve Carell) and Maxime were classmates at the same School for Evil. They open the film at their class reunion, where Gru leads the Anti-Villain League in arresting Maxime. Maxime busts out within days and vows vengeance, not just for the arrest, but for a talent show spat back in the day. AVL-bigwig Silas Ramsbottom (Steve Coogan) sends the Gru family into what is basically witness protection. They get new identities as the "Cunninghams," with Gru/Chet as a Solar Panel salesman and Lucy/Blanche (Kristen Wiig) as a hairstylist. Oh, did I mention there's now a baby Gru Jr.? There is.

Meanwhile, the Minions (all Pierre Coffin) are drafted into the AVL, with five of them getting the Super Soldier treatment to become "Mega Minions." They're not very good Superheroes. But they might help when Maxime and his girlfriend, Valentina (Sofia Vergara) target Gru Jr. to get back at papa Gru. Also meanwhile, the new neighbor girl Poppy Prescott (Joey King), drafts Gru into her plot to steal the aforementioned School of Evil's mascot: Lenny the Honey Badger. What's a Gru to do?

My aforementioned issues come from its multiple plotlines. Sure, they may be comprehensive, but they're pretty underdeveloped. They never explain how the AVL drafted the Minions, considering that all but a few of them left Gru at the end of Despicable Me 3 for his brother, Dru. I'm pretty sure there wasn't a movie or short that explained it, either. Gru's adopted daughters - Margo, Edith and Agnes - have issues that never really pay off. Poppy's heist backfires when school Principal Übelschlecht (director Chris Renaud) tracks her down. But it never dwells on Lenny's cowering in her presence. The biggest flaw is Maxime's plotline; he spends most of the movie on silliness rather than being an on-screen credible threat. He only registers a bit credible once he finally gets to act. He even has an army of cockroaches, seemingly his equivalent of the Minions, who literally do nothing! Next...

Now for stuff that I liked. The Mega Minions are amusing even if they barely affect the plot. Their designs are delightfully silly, as are their various super-fails. It's especially funny when they're marginally successful! Them being the cavalry when Maxime has already been defeated is actually a pretty good punchline to their joke. Lucy's only day on the job ends catastrophically for a customer, Melora (Lorraine Newman) and the salon. Melora chases Lucy down at the grocery store, complete with snippets from The Terminator theme, in a surprisingly thrilling chase. I wasn't exactly amused by Edith and Agnes's blowhard karate teacher, which wasn't helped by me being in the front row, but I was amused when Agnes stood up to him. Poppy is a fine new character, though Lenny is by far the MVP of the new characters.

Despicable Me 4 isn't that interested in catering to its oldest audience members. But you know what? It's a nice diversion from the heat. I wasn't bored with it, even as I noticed how underdeveloped its plotlines were. I was still impressed with its few surprises, particularly The Terminator gag. Maybe you'll be surprised to if you make it your latest summer family matinee. If not, you can at least take comfort in its 95-minute runtime. Minions are fine, but we don't need three hours of them...

There's a three-hour movie in my future, isn't there?