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Despicable Me 4 is the final movie planned for the series, and the first one I’ve actually seen in full, bar a few clips from the others, which did make me laugh, but how do they fare for an entire film?
For want of a plot, baddie Maxime (Will Ferrell – Strays) is up to no good, and has embellished his body so he can become part-cockroach. However, since reformed Gru (Steve Carell – IF) is part of the AVL (Anti-Vandal League), he takes him down, gets him locked away, but then he breaks out of jail and wants to steal Gru’s baby for no apparent reason, so the family are put into witness protection.
While the reformed Gru being cajoled committing into a diamond heist, the other minions stay at the AVL, where some of them are transformed into superhero-style ‘Mega Minions’ – a sideplot that doesn’t really go anywhere,
Despicable Me 4 has a number of sight gags, such as one of the Minions getting sucked into a large jelly, and another getting stuck inside a vending machine. Plus, there was an amusing homage to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, as some characters take a flight in something similar.
However, once you’ve seen the Minions arse about once or twice, it all just repeats over and over and loses impact, feeling way too childish than it should to even the adults who might have to sit through this and is not very funny beyond a few laughs.
I’ve seen clips of the Minions before and they’ve made me laugh, so maybe it was having to watch an entire film which made it drag, as it was overegging the pudding. Once you’ve seen them arse about briefly, that’s about all you need, really.
I went to see this because it’s in 3D, and I’m on Odeon Limitless Plus – so it didn’t cost any extra, but while it had some moments where the 3D was used – and certainly a fair number more than The Garfield Movie, it still palls by comparison to Inside Out 2, as there’s nothing in Despicable Me 4 where it particularly stands out as being memorable.
And I’m sure I heard one character use the term “pissing around“, but in a U-certificate?
Then again, there is a moment when Agnes says to her pet goat, “Lucky, sit!” The goat excretes its bowels… and she responds, “I said sit!”
There is no mid-credits or post-credits scenes in Despicable Me 4, but the credits do feature some of the Minions generally messing about. Just messing, though. No pissing.
But, oh, Odeon have a problem again… I sent an email, aimed again at the CEO email, given the runaround I often get from the ‘customer service’ email bods.
“Dear (name), you now have a problem with two screens at your Trafford Centre cinema, with screens being out of focus. About 3 months ago, it was screen 1 – AND STILL IS! And now, the blurry disease has affected screen 5.
I mentioned it to the guy at the front of that area, who said he’d radio to someone about it. I don’t know if anyone came in during the following few minutes as I went to the toilet at that point, but nothing changed at all.
I did mention how the obvious points to note are during ads and trailers when there’s text onscreen, as that will highlight the problem. Other examples are when the trailers start, and the screen with “These trailers are suitable for the film”. Same goes for the BBFC title card, and the U/PG/12A/15/18-cert BBFC short video before that.
However, when I mentioned it for screen 1 on both occasions I was in there (for The Book of Clarence, and Garfield Movie 3D), someone came in to check, but nothing was changed.
How do you perform your checks? In a modern cinema, I’d expect something technical to be available to you, even if it’s something like the audio balance on an amp, that can sometimes get knocked off course, but a quick adjustment restores it.
Similarly, in the past, you’ve had focus problems in screen 2, 3, 6 and 13 (the Dolby Screen). Each time I mentioned something, and each time they were fixed within minutes! While most of those were the same type of blurriness as I’m encountering with screens 1 and 5 at the moment, Screen 13 (for Poor Things) was a real doozy – the image was actually overlaid upon itself, but slightly to the left. It couldn’t have been any more obvious, and was actually quite painful for look at for more than a couple of minutes. God knows how no staff or customers ever brought it up, or how long it was left like that.
Add to this, various broken seats, toilets/toilet doors and sinks, which have been like that for over a year. Why does no-one care anymore?
However, I can move to a different seat/toilet in the Trafford Centre, but if a film is only showing in 3D on one screen, I can’t move to a different screen. So, how long until these screens are fixed, and what’s stopping them being fixed, please?
And you shouldn’t be putting brand new films in substandard screens. You have some films that have been out for weeks. Put them in there, in the meantime.”
Their response:
“Hi Dom,
My name is (name), I am a member of the Guest Relations Management Team here at ODEON. We are responsible for responding to concerns directed to our Head Office or CEO, which is why I am responding to you today.
Thank you for bringing to our attention the issue you experienced with the blurry projection in Screen 1 and 5 during your recent visits to Odeon Trafford Centre. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and understand how this could have affected your enjoyment of the movie.
Please be assured that the cinema team have thoroughly checked the equipment and resolved the issue to ensure that it does not occur again.
The technical team on site has ensured it is as good as it can be for a 3D film. Your feedback is invaluable to us in maintaining the high standards of our cinema experience.
Further, the toilets are regularly cleaned and checked. The cinema team is aware of the issues you have raised and confirmed that these will be undergoing repairs soon.
I have relayed your feedback to the cinema management team for further review.
Should you encounter any further issues or have any other concerns during your visits, please do not hesitate to reach out to our team on-site. They are always there near the retail counter to assist you and ensure that your experience with Odeon is enjoyable.
Thank you for your understanding and continued patronage. We look forward to welcoming you back to our cinema soon.”
And I’ve sent a further email, but have yet to hear back:
“Hi (name), thanks for your reply. Can you confirm precisely who’s confirmed there’s an issue in both screens, and that they have now been resolved?
And what precisely did they say the issues were, and why they couldn’t fix it on Sunday?
I ask because (a) nothing was fixed at any time when I’ve mentioned it while watching a film in screens 1 or 5, and (b) just a few weeks ago when I brought up screen 1, at first (previous customer service email bod) stated they had spoken to the Trafford Centre, and that no-one had brought any issues up, as if I’d made the whole thing up (even though CCTV would show me going out both times, and staff coming in to check – even if nothing was fixed), and then you stated on May 22nd that Trafford Centre had confirmed screen 1’s problem was resolved.
As I’ve stated, it isn’t. I quickly had a look in screen 1 on the way to a film I was watching in that area, and saw the screen had the same problem.
So, something’s going on where, at best, the problems are just not being resolved, even though someone apparently states that they will be, and at worst, I’m being made out to be making it up.
What exactly is the problem with these screens that they can’t be fixed with a simple adjustment? I would understand if there’s a technical part that is required and is on order, for example. And I’ve mentioned before that Cineworld had this problem in 2022 (Black Adam, Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever), and it required a new bulb for the projector that had to be ordered, so took a few weeks to be resolved.
I just want someone to be straight with me, and I can’t just keep mentioning the problem to someone every time I’m in one of those screens, only for nothing to happen.”
Watch this space… Well, in a future review, most likely.
Despicable Me 4 is in cinemas now, and is available to pre-order on Blu-ray and DVD, ahead of its release date TBA.
You can also buy a bunch of various Despicable Me merchandise.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 94 minutes
Release date: July 12th 2024
Studio: Universal Pictures
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cinema: Odeon Trafford Centre
Rating: 2/10
Directors: Chris Renaud, Patrick Delage
Producers: Brett Hoffman, Chris Meledandri
Screenplay: Mike White, Ken Daurio
Music: Heitor Pereira
Cast:
Gru: Steve Carell
Minions: Pierre Coffin
Maxime: Will Ferrell
Valentina: Sofía Vergara
Principal Übelschlecht: Chris Renaud
Edith: Dana Gaier
Agnes: Madison Polan
Margo: Miranda Cosgrove
Lucy: Kristen Wiig
Silas: Steve Coogan
Bus Driver: John DiMaggio
Perry Prescott: Stephen Colbert
Patsy Prescott: Chloe Fineman
Poppy Prescott: Joey King
Melora / Additional Voice: Laraine Newman
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.