Movie Review – Incredibles 2

1. I will admit to being just a little underwhelmed by Incredibles 2 (2018). It’s flashy and like all films from Pixar, the script is tight, the characters are engaging and it’s got a plot twist you may or may not see coming depending on how many movies you see in a week.

I see a lot, so …there’s that.

Writer/director Brad Bird wastes no time – and I mean that literally. We reconnect with the Incredibles as they’re fighting The Underminer. They’ve shed their mild-mannered facades and work together with Frozone (Samuel L Jackson) to stop the Underminer from robbing the bank (of course). For all of their heroics, Supers (superheroes to you and me) are still illegal, and Agent Dicker (Jonathan Banks) can’t protect them any longer, not from lawsuits or hateful crowds. Homeless, jobless and living out of a motel, Bob/Mr. Incredible (Craig T Nelson) and Helen/Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) they try to make the best of a terrible situation, with their three ability-abled kids – Violet (Sarah Vowell), Dash (Huck Milner), and teh baby, Jack-Jack (Eli Fucile). Enter the Deavers, Winston and Evelyn high tech tycoons of the telecommunications giant, DEVTECH. Winston wants to prove to the world that supers are good and necessary. They employ ElastiGirl/ who’s abilities aren’t as potentially destructive as Mr. Incredible’s, to fight new threat Screenslaver.

The family is gifted a high-tech spacious home the Deavers aren’t using and Bob is left with the kids and everything that goes along with managing a single-parent home. Dash has that Common Core homework no parent can figure out, and Violet is dipping her toe into the teen dating scene with a boy who no longer remembers she exists (thanks, Dicker). Bob isn’t Mr. Mom (1983) incompetent, but he is a little of his league as a caretaker, and at the heart of Incredibles 2 isn’t superheroes or the villains or the new camaraderie Elastigirl finds with like-minded folks – it’s family.

Oh, and there’s Jack-Jack. He’s manifesting aaaaaalllllll of his powers as it suits him, and some of them are downright terrifying. Edna Mode is also back (of course she is, Dahling) and anytime she can make an appearance I see who I want to be when I grow up.

We have a few new supers introduced, including Reflux, whose superpower is probably triggered by pepperoni pizza and cheap beer. It’s played for laughs, but it’s also kind of cool.

I love the set design both modern and retro feel of everything. It how I would decorate if I have unlimited funds and maybe a 3D printer.

If you’re thinking this sorta kinda parallels the first movie, you’re not wrong, the only difference is endgame. Helen is the non-threatening honeypot that lures not only other supers out of hiding, but world leaders into a diabolical plot (for Pixar/Disney, anyway) fueled by betrayal and resentment. It’s a nice little twist, even if you know it’s coming, and the movie isn’t any less enjoyable for knowing it.

Of course, this is a movie kids and parents (and kidless parents) want to see, and I’m not going to discourage anyone from checking it out, but I would tamp down expectations just a little bit. Maybe it’s the familiarity with the characters or the familiarity of the plot, but I didn’t walk out like I did the first one or Monsters Inc (2001) waiting for it to drop on DVD so I could add it to my permanent collection. Some movies don’t need a sequel, but it was nice to pop in on the Parrs at least one more time.

Oh, and stay through the credits. The Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl, and Frozone have THEME SONGS!

Incredibles 2 (2018) is rated PG for animated people in peril, flaming acid reflux, scary hypnosis, Elasticgirl being stretched impossibly far, runaway trains, runaway boats, mild swears, irresponsible motorcycle riding, and Jack-Jack fighting a raccoon. I mean he’s a baby, for pity’s sake.