Despicable Me 4

The goofy Minions are on the loose again in “Despicable Me 4,” a lazy sequel that does little more to advance the franchise other than embodying the old adage of “style over substance” to a fault. There is very little here to recommend other than the first class technical achievements (the visuals are stunning, and the direction is better than expected for an animated film), making this installment feel more like a mindless baby sitter rather than a thoughtful exercise in creativity and storytelling. Former supervillian Gru (voice of Steve Carell) is living the good life with his wife Lucy (voice of Kristen Wiig), his daughters Margo (voice of Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (voice of Dana Gaier), and Agnes (voice of Madison Skyy Polan), and new baby Gru Jr., who proves to be a handful for his daddy. Their peaceful routine is sent into chaos when the evil Maxime Le Mal (voice of Will Ferrell) and his girlfriend Valentina (voice of Sofía Vergara) escape from prison and set their sights on a new nemesis and potential target: Gru. This forces the family to go on the run and assume new identities in the suburbs. The plot is basic and sounds like it could be a lot of fun with its fish out of water spin. Unfortunately, very little is done with the story. The film bounces back and forth with a lame narrative and cute Minions taking part in a variety of wacky, screwball antics, which may provide a good balance for adults and kids, but nothing about any of it works well. The far too simple and sparse story meanders between uninspired plot points and predictable characters arcs, never quite finding its footing. In other words, the movie is just plain dumb. The introduction of the Mega Minions is mildly fun and entertaining, but it runs out of steam fast (I fear these characters are going to spin off into what will inevitably be another lackluster film). Everything else is a shallow gimmick as the movie struggles to maintain momentum. At least it’s true to the “Despicable Me” canon, but the film also shows that there’s only so much you can do with these characters and this universe. Move along: there’s nothing original to see here. “Despicable Me 4” is a lazy movie overall, which is a shame because the technical aspects are so excellent. By: Louisa Moore / SCREEN ZEALOTS