It might seem strange to mention minions rather than get into the substance of Despicable Me 3, but the truth is the minions have developed a distinctive identity and are more entertaining.

Gru, the villain who headlines Despicable Me, is less despicable these days. He has just lost his job because he failed to bring the latest villain to justice.

When the central character becomes a nice chap, you know the film franchise is desperately looking for new ideas. Gru’s a villain. He can’t be anything else. To give the movie credit, it does deal with Gru’s attempts to get back his villain mojo.

He’s given a second chance when he discovers he has a twin brother, Dru, and that Dru wants Gru to mentor him in the ways of villainhood.

The truly villainous character is Balthazar Bratt, the man-child who has never given up his villainous mojo or his 1980’s mullet.  Bratt’s hairstyle, clothing and moustache are crimes on their own.

There are many movies vying for our attention in Despicable Me 3. We have the reunion story of Gru and his twin brother Dru and Balthazar Bratt’s plan to get revenge on Hollywood with his giant bubble gum-shooting robot. 

The children, Edith and Agnes add a magical element, with Agnes’ belief in unicorns showing that imagination can be liberating.

The minions, too, are roaming the world searching for a new villain to replace Gru.

There’s a lot going on in the movie, which distracts the audience.   The small scenes featuring the minions within the larger film give us an appetite for a full-blown minion film.

With Despicable Me 3, it’s not just Gru that has lost his mojo; the film itself is searching for a direction.

The real indication of this is that the audience only laughed sporadically and seemed more interested in their popcorn that Gru’s villainous exploits, although, in all fairness, the audience ranged in age from three to 12 with accompanying adults.