Despicable Me was a hit no one saw coming when it came out in 2010. I remember going in with zero expectations and leaving pleasantly surprised at how good this animated family film was. Steve Carell was great, the Shrek like story had a real sense of humour and heart to it, and the minions were first introduced firmly in their place, the background. Unfortunately the success of this one film meant the rise of the Minion by Illumination, an animated film company that has yet to make a film anywhere near as good since. Now after an okay second film, an abomination of a spin off and the extremely bland Secret Life of Pets, Illumination brings us Despicable Me 3. I was hopeful going in, the first film was great and the second was also enjoyable, so the third film should be an improvement upon the Minions movie right? Well yes, but Despicable Me 3 is yet another cash grab sequel that proves that this franchise has done all it can and is on the brink of death.
The producers of this franchise know who their audience are and who buys their ancillary markets, although both audiences aren't necessarily one and the same, the producers seem to think so and thus have made this film for the merchandise buyers, aka super mainstreamers and children The third Despicable Me film is the first in the trilogy to abandon attempts to please the family unit, in favour of appealing to 4-12 year old's and anyone with a Minion phone case. As a consequence, the film contains an endless barrage of idiotic slapstick comedy, crappy puns, stupid voices, silly dances, as well as, Minion babble So literally nothing we haven't already seen, and seen done better in this case, in every single kids and family film ever made
The biggest issue for me was the films humour, or better yet, lack of humour, as it was so horrifically bad that I seriously questioned every punchlines, do people actually think that these jokes are funny or are they meant to be ironic? Is the joke that these jokes are so painfully unfunny? I genuinely don't know. I do know however, that when i did laugh, which was rare, it was ironically, as this film is littered with cliché and cringey jokes which are delivered with a slight level of uncertainty by the voice actors, to which lead me to question it being ironic or not. About midway through the film there is a dinner scene which was the tipping point for me. I found myself in such discomfort, due to the scenes extremely unfunny nature and large levels of cringe, that I was hysterical, unable to contain my laughter for all the wrong reasons. Despicable Me 3 is so unfunny that it's even funny at times, but you have solider through the field of cringe and discomfort that comes with the films grating sense of humour. If Sandra Bullock and Jon Hamm can't save the Minions movie, Trey Parker and another Steve Carell cannot save Despicable Me 3
The film itself does what the Minions Movie did even worse, and that is not fully commit to certain plot lines. The film introduces the villain Balthazar Bratt in the opening, only to have him do nothing for the rest of the film, in favour of a brotherly love story between Steve Carell and Steve Carell. The film does cut back to Bratt and doesn't forget about him completely, but he feels very out of place once Dru is introduced. As well as this, the film recycles the same two or three sub plots from the first two films; There is a struggle with a character about being a parent (In this case, Lucy), Gru struggling with the urge to be bad when he knows he must be good for the 'Gurls!', and the Minions get a side story because Minions are the hottest of sh*t in the 2010's.
Lastly, Kristen Wiig comes off as excruciatingly awful in this film in large part due to the films unfunny nature. Kristen Wiig is an awkward comedy comedian and thus relies heavily on good material to work with, otherwise it's just cringe. All of Lucy's humour falls flat on its face as the material given isn't good, and Wiig's performance overall comes off as desperate-for-a-laugh because of this. Sorry Kristen :(.
To conclude, Despicable Me 3 is not the quality boost the franchise needed, but rather proves that the Despicable Me franchise has nothing more to offer us. The films have become more accessories to the Minion Merch with every new instalment and I pray that they please let this die as this film proves that it is ready for the sweet release of death. This is a huge shame as Despicable Me in 2010 was a great film, now ruined by a series of cash grab sequels that are the reason The Emoji Movie exists Thanks a lot Gru, thanks a lot.
The producers of this franchise know who their audience are and who buys their ancillary markets, although both audiences aren't necessarily one and the same, the producers seem to think so and thus have made this film for the merchandise buyers, aka super mainstreamers and children The third Despicable Me film is the first in the trilogy to abandon attempts to please the family unit, in favour of appealing to 4-12 year old's and anyone with a Minion phone case. As a consequence, the film contains an endless barrage of idiotic slapstick comedy, crappy puns, stupid voices, silly dances, as well as, Minion babble So literally nothing we haven't already seen, and seen done better in this case, in every single kids and family film ever made
The biggest issue for me was the films humour, or better yet, lack of humour, as it was so horrifically bad that I seriously questioned every punchlines, do people actually think that these jokes are funny or are they meant to be ironic? Is the joke that these jokes are so painfully unfunny? I genuinely don't know. I do know however, that when i did laugh, which was rare, it was ironically, as this film is littered with cliché and cringey jokes which are delivered with a slight level of uncertainty by the voice actors, to which lead me to question it being ironic or not. About midway through the film there is a dinner scene which was the tipping point for me. I found myself in such discomfort, due to the scenes extremely unfunny nature and large levels of cringe, that I was hysterical, unable to contain my laughter for all the wrong reasons. Despicable Me 3 is so unfunny that it's even funny at times, but you have solider through the field of cringe and discomfort that comes with the films grating sense of humour. If Sandra Bullock and Jon Hamm can't save the Minions movie, Trey Parker and another Steve Carell cannot save Despicable Me 3
The film itself does what the Minions Movie did even worse, and that is not fully commit to certain plot lines. The film introduces the villain Balthazar Bratt in the opening, only to have him do nothing for the rest of the film, in favour of a brotherly love story between Steve Carell and Steve Carell. The film does cut back to Bratt and doesn't forget about him completely, but he feels very out of place once Dru is introduced. As well as this, the film recycles the same two or three sub plots from the first two films; There is a struggle with a character about being a parent (In this case, Lucy), Gru struggling with the urge to be bad when he knows he must be good for the 'Gurls!', and the Minions get a side story because Minions are the hottest of sh*t in the 2010's.
Lastly, Kristen Wiig comes off as excruciatingly awful in this film in large part due to the films unfunny nature. Kristen Wiig is an awkward comedy comedian and thus relies heavily on good material to work with, otherwise it's just cringe. All of Lucy's humour falls flat on its face as the material given isn't good, and Wiig's performance overall comes off as desperate-for-a-laugh because of this. Sorry Kristen :(.
To conclude, Despicable Me 3 is not the quality boost the franchise needed, but rather proves that the Despicable Me franchise has nothing more to offer us. The films have become more accessories to the Minion Merch with every new instalment and I pray that they please let this die as this film proves that it is ready for the sweet release of death. This is a huge shame as Despicable Me in 2010 was a great film, now ruined by a series of cash grab sequels that are the reason The Emoji Movie exists Thanks a lot Gru, thanks a lot.