Movie Review: "Despicable Me"
Franck Tabouring
Seen on: July 6, 2010
The players: Directors: Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud, Writer: Ken Daurio, Cast: Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews, Will Arnett
Facts of interest: None.
The plot: Gru is a villain who plans to steal the moon. But then he's faced with a new challenge: he must raise three orphan girls...
Our thoughts: Reviewing a movie is solely a subjective thing. It is the pure representation of one’s feelings and thoughts in written form, and nothing more. I decided to start off with this because many people out there still tend to verbally attack reviewers who hate a movie they love. Keep it cool folks, because we all like and dislike different things. Now, let me move on to my review…
I really hated “Despicable Me.” I understand I am certainly in the minority here, but this is a 3D-animated family adventure I simply couldn’t connect with at all. It bored me to death and hardly surprised me, and even though I repeatedly gave it another shot hoping for improvement throughout, I left my screening utterly disappointed. Again, I have my reasons, and of course, you don’t have to agree with me.
The chaotic script is one thing that simply didn’t work for me. Audiences are bombarded with too many things in a limited time frame, and I never felt I could connect with the film’s main characters, which lack the kind of ravishing emotion and surprise factor we usually get to admire in Pixar’s masterpieces. The adventure they embark on was simply a tad too predictable and tedious for my taste. The story doesn't feel much like a complete story, but more like a collection of little, occasional jokes pretending to tell a story.
Steve Carell voices Gru, an eccentric villain who’s been struggling to steal things, primarily because his biggest rival Vector (Jason Segel) is always a step ahead. In order to restore his reputation as a bad guy, Gru decides to steal the moon, but just as he’s about to put his plan into motion, he’s faced with a new, challenging task: raise three little orphan girls looking for the perfect family.
While the story of “Despicable Me” definitely sounds all cute and exciting, it’s the execution of a solid concept that didn’t exactly work out that great in my book. The film boasts a couple of funny and fast-paced action moments here and there, but most of the time, the level of goofiness comes across as more annoying than hilarious. I really failed to find the big laughs I was looking for in this movie.
“Despicable Me” also arrives with an overload of the so-called animated cuteness, carried mostly by the three little girls and Gru’s army of little yellow minions. This obviously sounds great as well, but it quickly becomes an excuse for the filmmakers to fill up the time. Watching a little girl make huge eyes 20 times in an hour and a half just isn’t quite interesting anymore after the third time.
I appreciate the film’s intentions of depicting a villain who steals things for a living and ends up reconsidering his job because three little kids end up stealing his heart. It’s a great message and just the kind of story that should inspire young cinemagoers, and while I found myself incapable of falling in love with Gru and co., I’m sure most kids will easily enjoy Gru’s adventure.
I did like the animation, even though I must also admit the 3D didn’t do much for me. Most of the film’s voice work does the job as well, but Gru’s unnecessary accent annoyed me from the start. All in all, the film just didn’t give me enough reason to care for the main character, and that’s one thing I have to able to do in order to fully enjoy a movie, especially an animated one following a traditional formula.
Freaky quote: "You will not cry, or sneeze or barf or fart! No annoying sounds." - Steve Carell, desperately trying to pull off a funny accent
The final word: I understand “Despicable Me” is a crowd-pleaser, and I understand it’s a film the young ones will enjoy without a doubt. I simply cannot share all the enthusiasm surrounding this film, and I am not afraid to say that. I respect your opinion though, and all I ask in return is for you to respect mine. So keep it cool folks, and keep from posting offensive comments below. It won’t be worth it, I can guarantee it.
Article by Franck Tabouring
Reader Comments (2)
BOO!!!!!!!!!!!
Boooo #2....I LOVED IT!.. I took my Kids & while they Laugh their socks off I cried and laughed my a@# off..... it was a bit predictable but Overall Enjoyable. In My point of View this Movie was based on 2 things 1. Is being Happy with your own lil Imperfect Family and 2. Is the real world Predictable situation in almost everyone’s life in any Industry. You have these bad ass ideas or Skills but as you get older there’s these newer models coming in with better ones and Stronger Skills. However, sometimes in life you find someone or something to RE INSPIRE YOU....& you hit a Stream where no matter how old you are you KICK A@#...lol. I Loved how (though kind of sad) the Grandma never approved of Gru's Achievements & Intelligence, once she got her Grandchildren she told him How she was Proud and even Better than her. Gru’s army of little yellow minions were Weird but kind of cute. IM AN IMOTIONAL PERSON...lol... I will Buy The DVD once it comes out!