Movie Review: Incredibles 2

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Laughs and action with a family we love

Cons: Cons would make this movie less Incredible

The Bottom Line:

More action and laughs

As Incredibles return

Sequel well worth wait

Incredibly Fun Sequel

It’s been 14 years since we first met the family of superheroes known as The Incredibles.  Since that time, the superhero genre has exploded with the Marvel Cinematic Universe reaching new heights with each movie and plenty of superhero shows on TV.  Like others, I’m surprised it has taken so long for us to get this sequel, but I found Incredibles 2 well worth the wait.

This movie picks up moments after the last one ends.  And I do mean moments.  We actually get to watch as this family of superheroes takes on The Underminer, which means we don’t have to search for John Ratzenberger’s cameo.

Unfortunately, the fight doesn’t go well, and it means that the Incredibles aren’t changing any minds about bringing superheroes out of the shadows.  In fact, the family finds themselves staying in a hotel without any job prospects.

That is until Lucius Best, aka Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson), passes on an offer he’s received.  It seems that a mystery man wants to help bring superheroes back into the light, and he thinks that Helen Parr, aka Elastigirl (Holly Hunter), is the best person to do that.  This means leaving Bob, aka Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson), with kids Violet (Sarah Vowell), Dash (Huckleberry Milner), and baby Jack-Jack (Eli Fucile).  Will Elastigirl succeed in her mission?  Can Bob handle the kids?

And we are off on another fun ride.  I must admit I was worried from the previews that this movie would make Bob out to be an idiot when it comes to dealing with the kids, but I felt the movie walked the fine line when it came to that plot.  What do I mean?  There were plenty of laughs with the issues the kids were having, but they weren’t all at Bob’s expense.  And he definitely tried hard, which helped a lot in my mind.

I will admit that the previews spoiled many but not all of the best laughs in the film.  But that didn’t seem to matter.  When we hit those scenes in the movie, the audience I was with laughed just as hard, and I was right there with them.  I must admit that Jack-Jack stole much of the show.  Overall, this is a great comedy.

What the previews didn’t spoil was the superhero storyline that Elastigirl is involved in.  Granted, the twists weren’t all that surprising, but it was still very well done.  And the villain, while pure evil, does provide us some things to think about.  Just maybe not quite to the extremes presented here.  We also get to meet a host of new superheroes with a range of powers, and I enjoyed them very much.

The voice cast is wonderful again.  They bring their characters to life perfectly and allow us to get lost in the story.  The animation is stylized like it was in the first movie, but perfectly captures the feel of this film.

Speaking of which, I once again loved the retro 50’s look of the film.  With modern references worked in, it allows the film to feel timeless.

There were warnings outside the theater and before the film started about flashes of light that might bother those with photosensitive epilepsy, so keep that in mind.  I was a bit surprised to find a couple characters used God’s name in vain as well, something we don’t usually see in animated movies.  Despite this being a superhero movie, I didn’t find the fight scenes that violent, especially compared to other superhero movies, so the crew did remember their audience when it came to those.

This is a sequel just as they should be – a chance to see what happens next to our favorite characters that is as much fun as the first one.  If you haven’t seen Incredibles 2 yet, fix that today.