'Despicable Me 4' review: swirls of over-plotting mania

“Despicable Me 4” should come with a subtitle: “The Kitchen Sink.” That’s because this latest installment in Illumination’s blockbuster animated franchise packs a mix of physical and visual gags and action of all kinds, plus a barrage of narrative dead ends, subplots and characters, as it strives to fill its roughly 90 minutes with jaw-dropping, mind-blowing mayhem.

Despite a few laughs, some good voice work and plenty of eye-catching colour, it's a largely empty and exhausting ride.

It's doubtful that the average viewer, new or new to the series, will be able to give a fully coherent summary of the plot of the film, which was written by Ken Daurio (writer of all the “Despicable” installments) and Mike White (“The White Lotus”). The convoluted story won't stop families lining up to see it, but be forewarned.

The plot sees Despicable Me star Gru (voiced by Steve Carell), a lovable, hapless, oddly accented supervillain turned hero (he of the egg-shaped head and woodpecker nose) who is forced into some sort of witness protection program after facing off against his old childhood nemesis, the super-evil Maxime Le Mal (Will Ferrell). Le Mal, a Eurotrash Frenchman with an equally wicked and quirky girlfriend (an underused Sofia Vergara), has sworn revenge on Gru and his family, so action must be taken. While the origin story of their old feud will likely go unnoticed by any insignificant person present, it's not exactly the stuff of life-or-death wars. But whatever.

Gru's Anti-Villain League (AVL) boss, Silas Ramsbottom (Steve Coogan), whose head resembles a malleable eggplant, installs Gru and his family (his spunky wife Lucy (Kristen Wiig), also an AVL agent; a trio of adopted young daughters; and a spunky baby) in the idyllic town of Mayflower under false identities. Gru becomes a solar panel salesman named Chet Cunningham. Lucy must now go by the name “Blanche” and, despite having no talent for hairdressing, work as a hairdresser (a laborious plot transition with little payoff).

There are neighbors: Perry (Stephen Colbert), a cocky, high-jawed car salesman; his socialite wife, Patsy (Chloe Fineman); and their teenage daughter, Poppy (Joey King). The latter, a budding criminal, quickly discovers Gru's true identity and blackmails him into a daring heist at Gru and Le Mal's alma mater, the imposing Lycée Pas Bon, a high school for villains. The result is another out-of-control scene and the theft of an errant honey badger.

What else? Well, Le Mal can turn into a giant, ultra-destructive cockroach, because why not? Gru's two youngest daughters join a karate class led by an inexplicably hostile sensei (Brad Abelson). Oh, and Gru ends up in trouble at a tennis match with Perry and his country club friends, but ultimately shows everyone who's boss — without much success.

There's a kidnapping (not the first in this series); a wheelchair-bound school principal who transforms into some kind of monster truck; and a climactic, death-defying (read: consequence-free) battle that seems ridiculous even for a movie like this.

There's plenty more to tell, including the franchise's famous Minions, those little yellow, gibbering, capsule-shaped pranksters (all voiced by their co-creator, Pierre Coffin), who exist primarily to help Gru. Here, though, they're used more as a chaotic distraction than a vital driver of the plot.

While Coogan’s Ramsbottom injects five of the creatures with a special serum that grants them a variety of superhero-like powers, the rest of the Minions are stuck in Gru’s house, where they’re continually at odds with a vending machine. Whatever their purpose in “4,” they’re still barking, annoying, and boisterous — even if the powerful, so-called Mega Minions can now (ineptly) decimate a city.

Directed by Illumination veteran Chris Renaud (the first two “Despicable Me” films, “The Lorax,” and both “Secret Life of Pets” films are all his), the film’s brisk pace can’t be faulted. The movie can be tedious, but it’s rarely boring. (Patrick Delage is credited as co-director.)

As for music, Heitor Pereira returns to provide the film’s effective and sometimes eclectic soundtrack. Pharrell Williams’ earlier tracks from “Despicable” are reprised, plus Williams wrote and performs the catchy new original song “Double Life.” There are also several playful needle drops and a lively, last-minute use of Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.”

A tremendous amount of talent, skill, resources and, no doubt, love goes into a film like this, and all of that can't be overlooked. One only wishes that the final product evolved the series into something smarter and more dimensional, and offered perhaps a more timely and meaningful message for family audiences. Well, there's always “Despicable Me 5.”