Film review: Despicable Me 3 (4 out of 5)

The Despicable Me franchise has been a well planned trio of animated films.
Despicable Me 3Despicable Me 3
Despicable Me 3

The first (and still the best) had an evil genius, Gru, becoming a hero after he adopts three young girls.

Next he gains a wife, Lucy, in another action-packed adventure.

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And in this latest venture he discovers he has a twin brother and sets off on a mission once again.

It’s all good, solid fun with slapstick comedy and cute characters.

All that alone would be good enough for success.

But we also have the Minions.

Whoever dreamed up these yellow capsule-shaped creatures deserved a medal.

They represent the basic elements of fun - cartoon violence, their own strange language and the ability to point out and get involved in the most basic childish jokes.

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While Gru and the gang live in a world we can just about recognise, the Minions are surreal.

Just how weird they are was all too evident in their spin-off movie in 2015.

And in this third of the Despicable Me series most of them have their own adventure, taking part in a brilliant song and dance act and taking over a prison.

Overall it’s great fun and Trey Parker (South Park) voices a new and really good ‘baddie’ in former TV star Balthazar Bratt.

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There’s plenty going on with Gru and his twin Dru (Steve Carell) trying to bond, Lucy (Kristen Wiig) attempting to be the perfect mom, plus the fight against Bratt.

But it’s crammed into a neat 90 minutes, so no time to let your attention wander.

I’m not sure where the franchise can go from here but let’s hope it’s not the end of Gru and the Minions.

Film details: Despicable Me 3(U) 90mins

Directors: Eric Guillon, Kyle Balda Pierre Coffin

Starring: (voices of) Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Trey Parker

Screening courtesy of Horsham Capitol