Gru 4: Mi villano favorito

This fourth film in the series crashes and burns on multiple levels. The story is a tedious slog, failing to capture the spark of the previous entries. The villain, unworthy of the franchise's legacy, is a bumbling disappointment easily defeated by a puppy. This lackluster antagonist makes the film an unenjoyable chore, especially for fans who invested time in the previous installments.

But the problems go deeper than a weak villain. The plot itself feels uninspired, and the film fails to recapture the magic that made the earlier movies so entertaining. It's a forgettable entry in a series that deserved better.

I think this falls into the same mistakes that the third one did. It was still classic Minion fun, but it didn't have a story to tell. In fact, in this one there isn't really a story. The story was just loosely tied together. In fact, it's multiple different things tied together, to make a mess of a story. That being said, I still had fun. I thought that the different bits and pieces we got was the fun to be expected with this franchise. For me, it still had a little bit of the charm from the first two. It isn't completely lost yet. The growth of Gru and his son was cute, but that was just about as interesting the movie got. I still had a lot of fun with the Mega Minions, I hope we can see more of them in the future. This franchise will forever be a guilty pleasure of mine.

"Despicable Me 4" is a mixed bag that might leave some fans wanting more. The movie, which I rate a 5 out of 10, unfortunately feels like it cut corners, particularly in its action sequences. The fighting scenes, which are a staple of the series' high-energy style, felt noticeably truncated. This lack of extended action left a sense of incompleteness, making the film's pacing seem uneven.

However, the film is not without its merits. There are some genuinely funny moments that capture the charm of the series, reminding us why we fell in love with Gru, the Minions, and their antics in the first place. The humor, while sporadic, still manages to evoke laughter and maintains the whimsical spirit of the previous installments.

The plot, while serviceable, doesn't break new ground. It follows a familiar formula, which might be comforting for some viewers but predictable for others. The new characters introduced did not add much depth to the story, and the development of existing characters seemed stagnant.

Visually, "Despicable Me 4" maintains the bright and colorful animation style that the franchise is known for, which is a definite plus. The Minions continue to steal scenes with their slapstick humor, but even their antics can't fully compensate for the film's shortcomings.

In summary, "Despicable Me 4" delivers some laughs and retains the visual appeal of its predecessors, but it falls short in terms of action and character development. While it's an enjoyable watch for die-hard fans, it doesn't quite capture the magic of the earlier films in the series.

Now, I've been a fan of these Despicable Me Movies since 2010 and I've loved all of the movie in a variety of different qualities. However, there was a part of me that wasn't necessarily excited for this movie and that's a big surprise for me. Now that I've watched the movie and I can honestly say that while I did like this movie, we've officially come to the point where the Despicable Me Franchise is starting to feel played out.

Positives for Despicable Me 4 (2024): There is still a lot of fun that can be had with this set of characters and honestly these movies won't survive without them. I enjoyed that this movie has a wide variety of different characters with their own distinct personalities and charisma. I really enjoyed the addition of Joey King as Poppy Prescott as one of the the neighbor characters to the Gru Family. I liked the fact that the Gru Family has to figure out how they need to adapt to a new neighborhood. I really enjoyed the journey that Gru goes on with his infant son Gru Jr. Where at the beginning of the movie, Gru Jr. Hates his father and then eventually starts to like his father at he end of the movie. And finally, the minions are still a lot of fun with their insane antics.

Mixed for Despicable Me 4 (2024): The main issue that I have with this movie is the screenplay and that's primarily because the two screenwriters of this movie are Mike White, the creator of The White Lotus (2021-) and Ken Daurio, the screenwriter of multiple Illumination Animated Movies. And while I do enjoy what both of these guys bring to the table with their writing, their styles of writing do not feel compatible with each other in term of how they write their characters, construct their stories, the tone that they're going for and the themes that they want to explore. It literally feels the movie is trying to figure out what it wants to be throughout the runtime.

Negatives for Despicable Me 4 (2024): Similar to Despicable Me 3 (2017), Dr. Nefario is not in this movie, with the exception of a small cameo. And finally, the villains of both Maxime Le Mal and Valentina are by far the weakest in the franchise which is bizarre because they are voiced by Will Ferrell and Sofia Vergara respectively.

Overall, Despicable Me 4 (2024) is still a fun movie within this franchise but we've reached the point where this franchise is starting to feel played out and that's not a good thing.

If it's not sacrilegious to say, I think this franchise is starting to run out of steam - the plot here isn't very original. The family "Gru" have a new child who doesn't much take to his father which only makes matters worse when arch-nemesis "Maxime Le Mal" - who is intent on turning everyone into cockroaches - escapes from custody bent on revenge on the man who put him in jail in the first place. Better safe than sorry, "Silas" relocates the family to a safe house where they have to pretend to fit in with the vacuous tennis club set, but one of that number - the feisty "Poppy" knows the secret and blackmails "Gru" into helping her pinch "Lenny" the badger from under the eyes of the diminutive "Principal Übelschlecht" at his alma mater. This adventure narks the headmistress and when she sees some video of the perpetrators, she's straight on to the phone with "Maxime" who hatches a plan to steal the baby and give him wings! The minions - and the newly formed and enhanced "Super Minions" - still manage to have some fun here as they discover their new home has a vending machine and an endless supply of popcorn, and there is some wit in the dialogue but the story itself is all pretty derivative and the animation looks a little too tired now. What was ground-breaking looks so much less now and the writing and characterisations are nothing special anymore. It does liven up for the last ten minutes, but the previously innovative and enjoyable mix of menace and mayhem has largely gone.