Should a review of a “Despicable Me” movie be a thoughtful analysis or just a list of the funny stuff the Minions do in it? As much as I might believe in the value of film criticism, I kind of suspect that even the finest points of assessment would be dismantled about as fast as a Minion can says “Bello!” Since they first emerged in the original “Despicable Me” in 2010, the Minions have marauded through movie theaters with impunity, soaking up some $4.6 billion in ticket sales and spawning a franchise that with its latest entry, “Despicable Me 4," and counting the multiplying “Minions” spinoffs, numbers six movies and counting. Along the way, they’ve accumulated bits of vocabulary from around the globe to add to their gibberish squeals.
In “Despicable Me 4,” I heard “antipasti,” “bazooka” and something that sounded a little like the old “Goonies” line: “Hey you guys!” So the Minions continue to evolve even if the movies don’t. Six films in and with more on the way, too much of a good thing is becoming more of a pressing question in “Despicable Me 4,” a silly and breezy installment from Illumination Entertainment that passes by with about as much to remember it as a Saturday morning cartoon. That’s not all bad.
Much of what makes the “Despicable Me” movies fun is that they avoid any sense of seriousness like the plague. They stand proudly in the Looney Tunes realm of animation, with little aim beyond loosely stitching slapsti.
