Note: Spoilers Rampant.
In the popcorn movie category comes Despicable Me 3 (2017), the latest in this profitable franchise. I loved the first two entries, thought the third, Minions (2015), lacked both focus and theme, although the Minions remained amusing, so I had some trepidation over this entry.
And, yes, it’s disappointing. The charm of the first two movies may have been the Minions and their interactions with their leader, Gru, but the engine of both was the personal growth of Gru, as he transforms from villainy to grumpy goodness through the magic of the children he adopted for nefarious purposes, and then the growth of his love for the new woman in his life, Lucy.
In 3, the engine is Gru’s twin brother, Dru, who lusts to be a criminal, but is far too ADHD to accomplish much beyond running the family pig farm. And it’s only a little putt-putt engine, because Dru is really living off the glory of their father, from whom he’s inherited the equipment and desire for villainy. Unlike Gru, who had built his felonious empire from the ground up and earns our respect for his industry and cleverness (remember his original motivation for adopting the girls?), and then through his wholesale change of heart as he learns the importance of family, Dru has no achievements, and thus little to sacrifice. Does he grow? Sure. But the transformation can be partially ascribed to his chaotic ADHD. It’s not as satisfying as his arch-criminal brother’s transformations in previous stories.
The antagonist, Balthazar Bratt, is once again clever, but lacks interesting depth. As the vengeful remnant of a once-beloved child movie actor, he might be seen as a commentary on the brutality of Hollywood towards those who ultimately enable that entire enterprise, but this angle is not convincingly explored. He’s all rage, with none of the leavening necessary to make him sympathetic to the audience. The interactions of Bratt with Gru could have been far more interesting if he’d had something to really engage the audience, even if, in the end, we were repelled.
And I was disappointed that the most enigmatic character in the entire series, Edith the middle sister, was not explored. Agnes, the youngest, was the catalyst of the first movie, providing motivations and observations which really entranced the viewer; Margot, the oldest, was a focus of the second, moving from girl to young woman in the second. Meanwhile, Edith has been the tomboy throughout, and received very little attention in 3. I think this is a missed bet, as there may be quite a lot hidden behind that slightly cynical facade.
Not that this is a complete disaster, but there are other flaws as well. I count at least four throwaway characters who could have been memorable, but were not because of the writers. The use of bubble gum as a weapon, while fitting into the tradition of odd weapons in this series, was less inspirational than, say, the piranha gun. (Doctor Nefario’s fart gun is a personal favorite of mine.)
So, if you’re a completist, go see it. This is rather like a lesser 007 movie, put out to harvest some money, but nowhere near as good as it might have been. Another script rewrite or two could have greatly improved this offering.
