Despicable Me 3 Review

This is a review of “Despicable Me 3,” but with a lot of words about the rest of the series, too. At the beginning, I must admit that I have a soft spot for Gru, because he’s a bit of a shady character - not really evil, not even in the first movie, not really good, either. But I also really love the three movies of the “Despicable Me” series (and no, “Minions” is not part of that). Why is that so?

First of all, all three movies give us a different story. Unlike other movies, where the sequels were, essentially, only rehashing the story, the life of Gru and his girls (and now Lucy, too) moves on. In the first movie, Gru discovers his love for the three orphaned girls he originally used for a plan and ends up adopting them for real. In the second movie, Gru goes legal to be a better example for his girls and meets cool secret agent Lucy whom he falls in love with (not to mention he ends up working for the Anti-Villain League for a bit). And the third movie goes on from there, when Gru is fired by the new boss and suddenly is tempted by crime again.

The big topic of all three movies in the series, though, is not villainy, but family. We are introduced to Gru’s mother in the first movie already and it’s pretty clear from the beginning that there are much better parents around (and few worse ones). Gru however, once he really starts to bond with Margo, Edith, and Agnes, has an actual talent for parenting. So first Gru becomes a father when adopting the girls for real. Then he meets Lucy who becomes not only his wife, but also a surrogate mother for his children. It’s clear they all like her, so this is a very good fit. And with the third movie, we actually are introduced to Gru’s twin brother Dru and, indirectly (since he’s dead), to Gru’s father, who did not leave the family because of disappointment (about Gru), as his mother always claimed. Actually, Gru’s father was mightily proud of the supervillain his son had become, because Gru and Dru come from a long line of villains.

Setting the Minions story-arch aside (they start a munity, are imprisoned, and come back for the finale), “Despicable Me 3” does a very fine job of spinning the story of Gru and his family further. On one side, there’s the sudden unemployment both Gru and Lucy have to deal with, then there’s the unexpected invitation to meet Gru’s twin brother - whom Gru had never heard of before, but whose existence his mother confirmed when asked. The trip to Dru’s place on an imaginary island reveals that Dru is definitely rich. Not only does he have a butler, the family has basically ruled the economy of the island for ages from their mansion. And the family has also done evil deeds for ages, but Dru (the twin their father took along) proved a failure. So he asks Gru to help him become a better villain. This is a very tempting offer for Gru at that time, as you can surely imagine: out of work, he’s suddenly presented with a top-notch lair and a lot of fine equipment, not to mention a perfect partner in crime in his twin brother.

At the same time, Lucy gets her own story-arch about becoming a mother. The problem is not Agnes, who has always wanted a mother and obviously adopted Lucy right away. It’s not Edith, either, who is very pragmatic and goes along with things. It’s Margo, the oldest of the girls, who was a surrogate mother to Agnes especially (and Edith to a certain degree) before. And Lucy doesn’t succeed right away at being a mother, but proves herself capable and worthy, nevertheless. By the end and the big confrontation with Big Bad Balthazar Bratt, she has found her feet as a mother and not just as the agent.

It’s also interesting how the role of the villain changes from movie to movie.

Vector, the antagonist in the first movie, is not really all that threatening. He has risen to power mostly through the protection of his father (who leads the Bank of Evil, where villains go to get a loan). Vector has no real plan of his own, but latches onto that of Gru, developed over decades, to be the first to steal the moon. Vector is, when all is said and done, a catalyst which helps Gru to realize where his real priorities lie: not in villainy, but in a family with the girls.

El Macho, the villain in the second movie (and, yes, the distinction between antagonist and villain is on purpose), poses far more of a threat. While Gru has retired to raise his girls and become a better role-model for them. El Macho disappeared for his own reasons, faking his death. He has raised a son of his own and some dialogue bits suggest the boy’s mother might have died or left her husband (since El Macho speaks of heartbreak, I think death is more likely). El Macho has not given up on villainy, though, and is in the process of seeking world domination by turning the Minions (which in many ways are almost like children for Gru, too, as many scenes throughout the movies show) into mindless monsters. He brings Gru and Lucy together, though, so he, too serves in making Gru’s family bigger.

Balthazar Bratt is both the reason for Gru being fired (although it’s shown more as a show of strength from the new boss of the AVL) and for Gru going back to being a hero. He is definitely not a family man (Vector has a visible father, El Macho a son), but lives alone with his memories of being an 80s child star and the robot which starred next to him in the show Evil Bratt. From his tools, his looks, and his plans, it’s pretty clear he got stuck in this ‘best part’ of his life. Balthazar provides more danger than both his predecessors, as it were. El Macho never gets to release the changed Minions and Vector never really threatens mankind by stealing the moon. Balthazar marches on Hollywood with his gigantic mech. He threatens Gru’s children, his brother, and Gru himself (which leads to clumsy Dru becoming very heroic). And even though he doesn’t win, of course, he proves himself a very good Big Bad.

In the end, and this is, of course, spoiler territory, Gru goes back to hunting villains with Lucy - and Dru becomes his special villain to hunt. Nevertheless, it’s easy to see from their interactions, that they will not take things to the highest level. They will not seek each other’s destruction. The credits show them trying to outsmart each other, which is a rather amiable way to fight. They stay brothers and family, although on different sides of the law - and the Minions find a new master who does villainy with them in the rather good-natured Dru.

Is “Despicable Me 3” the best movie ever? No. Is it a good movie to watch and fun, even if you’re an adult (who enjoys animated movies)? Definitely. Gru has yet to disappoint me, so far his stories have been entertaining and have been on rotation in my DVD drive more than once.