Incredibles 2 - Review

Sequels are always a tricky business to get right. Sequels to much beloved first entries are even trickier; even trickier is when the wait is fourteen years between entries. Pixar’s latest, Incredibles 2, is a worthy addition to the franchise that doesn’t quite hit the highs of the original. At this point, I should note, I’ve never quite understood the love the original Incredibles gets. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad film – it’s just put on a pedestal by everyone, and I’ve never understood why. I should be the prime target for this type of thing – I’m a superhero geek after all – but it just has never connected with me.
 
Right off the bat, we are reintroduced to the Parr family: Bob, aka Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson – UTA|Forward Entertainment), Helen, aka Elastigirl (Holly Hunter – ICM|Management 360), and their three kids, moody teenager Violet (Sarah Vowell – Steven Barclay Agency), hyperactive Dash (Huck Milner – Abrams Artists) and baby Jack-Jack (Eli Fucille – unrepped). Picking up exactly where The Incredibles left off, the Parrs, along with family friend Lucius, aka Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson – ICM|Anonymous Content), are trying to defeat the villainous Underminer (John Ratzenberger – Global Artists|Management Squared). Superheroes are still outlawed, and the amount of collateral damage the battle causes doesn’t make the case that heroes should be legal any time soon. Luckily, a tech mogul, Winston Deaver (Bob Odenkirk – WME|Odenkirk Provissero Entertainment) and his sister Evelyn (Catherine Keener – Gersh), have a plan. They will launch an aggressive PR campaign showcasing superheroes doing good deeds, which will make supers popular again and allow them to become legal. Elastigirl is chosen as the poster woman for this operation; this rankles Bob and forces him to be a stay-at-home parent while Helen goes out doing hero work. Bob has to deal with Violet’s first crush, help Dash with math homework, and the drama of baby Jack-Jack (he’s got a host of unpredictable powers now). However, nefarious forces are afoot in the form of the villainous Screenslaver, and Helen might be in over her head.
 
There’s something a little half-baked about the set-up of the film. By centering Bob’s emotional arc on being a good parent, the film relies on several clichés that feel like they were ripped from a ’90s family comedy. Meanwhile, the problems the kids are facing are also not explored with much depth. Violet having to deal with a crush whose memory has been erased was pretty clever, but on the whole, I didn’t find Incredibles 2 as engaging as the original.
 
Writer/director Brad Bird (UTA) keeps things moving at a brisk pace, and the film looks fantastic. There are just certain things animation can do with superheroes that live action can’t, and the action scenes are pretty awesome and unique. Particularly fun is a runaway train sequence where Helen’s stretch powers are used in ways you’d never see in a Fantastic Four movie. I hope Incredibles 2 makes other animation studios sit up and actually make superhero films going forward – there’s a lot of potential there. The retro futuristic design is super cool, and everything moves along to Michael Giacchino’s (Gorfaine/Schwartz Agency) jazzy score.
 
All in all, Incredibles 2 is fun, even if its emotional story feels thin for a Pixar film. And while I didn’t love it, it’s always nice to see a superhero film that’s NOT dour and concerned with the fate of the universe. Also, Bao, the short before the film, is lovely.
 
Three out of four stars.