Shadows on the Wall | Despicable Me 4

Despicable Me 4

dir Chris Renaud
scr Mike White, Ken Daurio
prd Brett Hoffman, Chris Meledandri
with Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Pierre Coffin, Will Ferrell, Joey King, Sofía Vergara, Stephen Colbert, Chloe Fineman, Steve Coogan, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, Madison Polan
release US 5.Jul.24,
UK 12.Jul.24
24/US Universal 1h34

See also:

Is it streaming?

With a smarter script and even snappier pace, this might be the best film in this two-pronged franchise, furthering the adventures of Gru and his minions. It's a superb mix of slapstick action, family-based comedy and blissful silliness, peppered with witty references to a range of movies. And the animators find increasingly clever ways to play with colours and textures, so the film looks terrific on the big screen.

At a high school reunion, Gru (Carell) encounters his old nemesis Maxime (Ferrell), who still holds a grudge and has weaponised the power of the cockroach to get his revenge alongside his sneery wife Valentina (Vergara). Their first plan is to kidnap Gru's new baby. So Gru's Anti-Villain League boss (Coogan) puts the family in a safe house, leading to a series of messy attempts to fit in at new jobs, school and the neighbourhood. But Gru is blackmailed by bratty neighbour Poppy (King) into staging a heist that puts him back in Maxime's crosshairs.

Alongside nods to the likes of Harry Potter, James Bond and Mean Girls, the movie takes its best swipe at the superhero genre, as a handful of minions are transformed by the agency into "mega-minions" and sent into the city to help people, with even more chaotic results than usual. Their riotously goofy side story ingeniously sets up the next movie. Meanwhile, there are several more plot threads, and each one spirals into genuinely hilarious mayhem, creating a series of unapologetically ridiculous action set-pieces.

Varying sizes and shapes of almost criminally likeable characters continue to set this series apart. Carell's thickly accented voice makes Gru hugely endearing, as he continually tries to do the right thing despite his predilection for evil. Little details are superbly played, such as how his baby son is dubious about him or the way he works with Poppy rather than lecturing her about her delinquent ways. And Farrell brings terrific energy as the buggy Maxime, who is animated in a way that's gleefully nuts.

Most impressive is that there is never any preaching about doing the right thing. But then, that is always plainly obvious, so the filmmakers can just get on with creating nutty set-ups while finding clever ways to reveal the close connections between the characters, including a continual stream of unexpected touches. So even if it might be a bit hyperactively exhausting, it's also so much fun that we don't want it to end.

themes, violence 12.Jul.24

R E A D E R R E V I E W S

Still waiting for your comments ... don't be shy.