Critics Dub ‘Despicable Me 4’ a Busy Family Comedy Where Minions Steal the Show

Moviegoers are about to go bananas this week when Despicable Me 4 makes its big screen debut. The Illumination-produced CG sequel opens Wednesday, July 3 through Universal Pictures, and is set to challenge reigning family audiences-fueled box office champ Inside Out 2.

Directed by franchise veteran Chris Renaud and co-directed by Patrick Delage from a screenplay by Mike White and Ken Daurio, the first Despicable Me title in seven years finds Gru (Steve Carrell) and Lucy (Kristen Wiig) settling in to family life with the girls and mischievous new addition, Gru Jr. But their suburban idyll is shattered by the arrival of a new nemesis, Maxime Le Mal (Will Ferrell), and his femme fatale girlfriend, Valentina (Sofia Vergara). DM4 also introduces characters voice by Joey King, Stephen Colbert and Chloe Fineman.

The latest entry is currently rating at 64% on Rotten Tomatoes (from 25 critics’ reviews), with a 58 point average on MetaCritic (six reviews). While some cinephiles enjoyed the usual madcap, family friendly ride, some couldn’t get past the array of subplots in place of a stronger, individualized story within the film series. However, most all agree that the Minions offer a delightfully silly distraction.

While this falls short of the first smash-hit movie released in 2010, which boasts an 80% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and Despicable Me 2 (2013) at 75%, DM4 is tracking ahead of DM3 (2017), which has 58%, and the first Minions prequel (2015) at 56%. Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) reached a 70% Fresh rating on the platform.

By global box office, The Rise of Gru leads the pack with $370 million, followed by Despicable Me 2 ($368M), Minions ($336M), Despicable Me 3 ($264.6M) and Despicable Me ($251.6M). The fourth installment in the franchise is expected to make over $100 million during the movie-friendly five-day July 4th holiday weekend timeframe in the U.S.

Here’s what some critics are saying about Despicable Me 4:

“A new setting, new villain and new characters … serve up enough fun and antics that will satisfy existing fans. The plot can sometimes feel like a chaotic mélange stretched too thin, but [Mike] White, who wrote the Illumination avian charmer Migration, elevates the overall narrative by injecting doses of his perennial interest in the social codes of the rich. The Minions get a zany B plot that becomes one of the film’s strongest threads, and a strong voice cast keeps the film engaging and nimble.”

— Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter 

“[T]he film’s pure entertainment value should count for something — and it does. Where the other leading computer animation studios strive for an emotional reaction, Illumination satisfies itself with laughter, and there’s lots of it in Despicable Me 4.”

— Peter Debruge, Variety 

“[W]hile Poppy [Joey King] starts out as a promisingly and entertainingly malicious character, the film loses interest in her once it has established that she’s not a credible threat to Gru and co. This throwaway approach to gags and characters is evident throughout the film … As always, the Minions deliver the biggest laughs … [a]nd Pierre Coffin’s Minion voice work remains one of the greatest pleasures of this reliably silly series.”

— Wendy Ide, Screen Daily

“Despicable Me 4 crams in so much story, along with so many different subplots and characters, you’d think you’re watching a 10-episode anthology series. Unsurprisingly, each and every one of these gets abandoned pretty quickly in favor of the next new thing. Whatever goodwill Migration may have earned Illumination as being capable of experimenting with strong visuals or story is squandered here.”

— Rafael Motamayor, Slash Film