I'm a fan of the "Despicable Me" franchise (except for the "Minions" spin off movie, which was terrible,) and I'm happy to say that this sequel does not disappoint in terms of entertainment value, laughs, thrills or charm. I think it is on par with the first movie and a bit better than the second one. In this chapter, Gru meets his twin brother Dru, who both must work together to stop Balthazar Bratt, an 80's-obsessed supervillain and former child actor out for vengeance.
The movie doesn't waste a minute of time and moves at a very fast pace. The jokes and action come rapid-fire, but never wear on the viewer or become ineffective. The plot has enough twists and turns to stop it from being formulaic, and the movie has some excellent and funny references to the previous two films. Finally, Bratt is a perfect villain for this type of film and is too tongue-in-cheek to resist. It probably helps too that I'm also a big fan of Trey Parker (who voices him) and his show "South Park," but he manages to make the character incredibly funny. While the 80's music and references stemming from his character will probably go over the heads of the kids in the audience, their parents won't be able to stop laughing at those moments. While there are some lines that don't work (e.g. fart jokes) for anyone except the young ones in the crowd, the vast majority of the script is very clever. All in all, this is a funny and sweet sequel with witty writing, an enjoyable plot, and a very memorable villain. 8/10
Note: I saw this film in Dolby Cinema, which is a new premium format that was installed at an AMC theater very close to me a few months ago. This was the first movie I have seen in that format. The clarity of the picture and sound quality were impressive, although I did find the sound a little bit too loud in some scenes for my liking (which is a bit odd, since when I saw 'Wonder Woman' in IMAX 3D at the same theater, the sound--while powerful and thrilling during the action scenes--did not feel too loud.) All in all, I enjoyed the Dolby experience.
The movie doesn't waste a minute of time and moves at a very fast pace. The jokes and action come rapid-fire, but never wear on the viewer or become ineffective. The plot has enough twists and turns to stop it from being formulaic, and the movie has some excellent and funny references to the previous two films. Finally, Bratt is a perfect villain for this type of film and is too tongue-in-cheek to resist. It probably helps too that I'm also a big fan of Trey Parker (who voices him) and his show "South Park," but he manages to make the character incredibly funny. While the 80's music and references stemming from his character will probably go over the heads of the kids in the audience, their parents won't be able to stop laughing at those moments. While there are some lines that don't work (e.g. fart jokes) for anyone except the young ones in the crowd, the vast majority of the script is very clever. All in all, this is a funny and sweet sequel with witty writing, an enjoyable plot, and a very memorable villain. 8/10
Note: I saw this film in Dolby Cinema, which is a new premium format that was installed at an AMC theater very close to me a few months ago. This was the first movie I have seen in that format. The clarity of the picture and sound quality were impressive, although I did find the sound a little bit too loud in some scenes for my liking (which is a bit odd, since when I saw 'Wonder Woman' in IMAX 3D at the same theater, the sound--while powerful and thrilling during the action scenes--did not feel too loud.) All in all, I enjoyed the Dolby experience.