It’s been 14 years since Pixar released the animated superhero success The Incredibles. In those 14 years fans of the original have been inquiring and begging for a sequel. There is a lot of built up expectation over the 14 years of anticipation. And after nearly a decade and a half, Incredibles 2 does not disappoint.
Brad Bird, (creator, writer, and
director of the original Incredibles) returns to again write and direct the
characters and world he created at a time when the quality and box office
success of superhero films were questionable. This time he enters a market that
is saturated with superhero content where Disney owns the most successful
superhero universe: Marvel. Rather than trying to compete with or copy what
makes those Marvel Movies so successful, Incredibles
2 remains self-contained and sticks to what made the original film so, for
lack of a more appropriate word, incredible.
So what story gets told after a
14-year hiatus? A continuation that picks up seconds after the ending of the
original film. If one was so inclined, it Is possible to watch both films as
one giant film. For those don’t recall, and if you don’t you should re-watch The Incredibles, that film absolutely
holds up, the Parr family was attending a track meet at the kids’ school; Dash was
competing. Violet, the eldest, just asked her crush out on a date. At the end
of the meet, the family comes out celebrating Dash’s winning trophy. Then
erupting from the ground is a giant drill and from the giant drill emerges The
Underminer; a new villain looking to take over the surface world. The family
dawns their masks and springs into action. And that’s exactly where the film
begins. The family does battle with The Underminer and causes astronomical
amounts of property damage in the process. And worst of all, The Underminer got
away. The Super Relocation Act, which bars super powered beings from using
their abilities, is still in effect. Cops, politicians, and most people still
don’t want the heroes to return. The family’s bond may be stronger than ever
now, but nothing else has changed for them. Bob and Helen still need jobs, need
to care for their children, and need to hide who they really are. What’s worse
is that the budget for the agency that was tasked to keep them hidden has now
run out of funds.
Now more than ever these super powered heroes need help.
Enter the rich and successful brother and sister business team of Evelyn and
Winston Deavor. They want to help bring the Supers back into the mainstream to
show that the world is better off with them contributing. For insurance
purposes though, they want to begin with Helen as Elastigirl. From acost
analysis report it is determined that Mr. Incredible’s brute strength causes
far too much damage, whereas Elastigirl has a more graceful approach to solving
problems. That means Bob must now become the stay at home parent.
Both Mr. Incredible and
Elastigirl now have their own adventures in this role reversal and it leads to relevant
and engaging stories that continue their character arcs flawlessly rather than
come off like a sequel. The funny comes from Mr. Incredible as he navigates
dealing with Dash’s homework (legit Math is being done different these days and
all parents are gonna go through this same experience), tries to help Violate
with her crush (another thing all parents will have to accept), and sit for a
baby that has an unpredictable variety of super powers (I hope no one of ever
have to deal with that).
Elastigirl on the other hand gets the adventure. Her
character takes to the streets and not only swings through rooftops as dynamically
as Spider-Man, but gets an elasti-cycle that works with her powers in such a
creative way. The action scenes in this film blew my mind, and this is an animated
feature. Who would have ever thought that action scenes in an animated feature
could be so engaging? And the villain? Screenslaver is the perfect villain for
the Incredibles to deal with. In the first film the joke of villains monologuing
is made, but Incredibles 2 actually makes it work. Screenslaver has a monologue
sprouting off truths about the pitfalls of having superheroes. How civilization
is stunted with its reliance on beings seen as gods but are just as fallible as
humans. Yes, this is a fun movie, but there is no reason why we can’t have some
social commentary in our popcorn.
Returning cast includes Holly
Hunter as Elastigirl, Craig T Nelson as Mr. Incredible, Sarah Vowell as Violet,
and Sam Jackson as Frozone. Replacing the character of Dash is new comer Huck
Milner. Also new to the cast are Catherine Keener (Get Out, Percy Jackson)
and Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul, The Post) as Evelyn and Winston Deavor,
the sister and brother duo that want to bring supers back into the main stream.
Also returning is composer Michael Giacchino who not only scored the first Incredibles film, but in between has
scored such major films as Doctor Strange,
Jurassic World, Rogue One A Star Wars Story and even won an Oscar for Pixar’s Up. And of course, director/writer Brad
Bird lends his voice again for the return of Edna Mode.
Bird’s passion for this creation
of his is well displayed in the product. Few franchises can take over a decade
off and return with the same quality and passion as Incredibles 2 has displayed. If it were to take another 14 years
for a third Incredibles film I would wait, but let’s hope it will come a little
sooner than that. In summation, Incredibles
2 is the perfect summer movie.
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