Despicable Me 3's Sibling Rivalry

"Face it, Gru - Villainy is in your blood!" It's amazing how much Illumination Entertainment becomes a part of your life when you're a parent. You've likely been Despicable Me'd and Minion'd and Secret Life of Pets'd so frequently that you're dizzy at the very mention of it. But part of the massive appeal of Chris Meledandri's pixelated empire is that these films always have a boatload of content that's just as appealing to adults - and for the most part, Despicable Me 3 is no exception.

Reformed super-villain Gru (Steve Carell) is now a family man, and anti-villain special agent. Who better to track down and apprehend super-villains, I ask you?! But Gru finds out he has a long-lost twin brother - Dru - a twin brother who's more successful and infinitely better coiffed than he is. When Gru loses his job after letting a major bad guy get away, reunited sib Dru enthuses that they take up the family business again - super-villainy - and team up!

Carell - voicing both parts - continues to be deliriously entertaining in this franchise. One foot in domestic travails, the other in larger than life Bondian mayhem. But he wants to be a good father and husband (to Kristen Wiig), and he doesn't want to disappoint anyone. Directed by Kyle Balda (Minions) and Pierre Coffin (also Minions plus Despicable Me and DM2), Despicable Me 3 has a pleasing family-meets-Bond vibe that strongly evokes The Incredibles. All the scenes with Gru and Dru sorting out their relationship are terrific and very funny. Dru's family estate is in the country of Freedonia (!) and the pig and cheese-occupied villagers and daughter Agnes' (Nev Scharrel) obsession to find an actual unicorn in the local forest create some of the funnier moments.

But DM3 is lacking the incessant spark and unexpected hilarity that made other Illuminations films like Minions and Secret Life of Pets such smash, repeatable hits. Yeah, the Minions are pretty hilarious, but nowhere near as novel or inventively employed as they were in their titular film. Plus, a big problem with the film is the antagonist - a parachute-pants-wearing former child star of the 1980s who's still living that decade. Balthazar Bratt (Trey Parker) wears thin right out of the gate, and becomes painfully annoying by act 3. He may have sounded funny on paper, but falls flat in execution. That makes for some rough sledding, make no mistake.

Still, Carell's dual roles carry most of the picture, and parents looking to enjoy a kid-friendly summer outing could do soooooooo much worse. It's not classic Illumination, by any means, but it's a lot of fun, has a good heart, and your family will laugh pretty hard - though pretty forgetfully.