Incredibles 2 is a fantastic movie that is just as good as the featuring amazing graphics a super accurate representation of a family dynamic and it even plays with physics in an extra interesting fun way. The story is rather original and has a pretty cool twist in it as well as a slew of awesome characters
One thing that I am a big fan of in both of the Incredibles movies is that they found just about the perfect balance of catering to both adults and children. Both films feature guns (like actual guns, not sci-fi looking blocky fake guns), have themes of death and even seeing people die, and political themes that really get adults thinking. I saw the original Incredibles the year it came out and I didn’t notice (or at least think about) any of the aforementioned details, but I still loved the movie. This past summer, my at the time 7-year-old sister and I watched the first Incredibles in preparation for the sequel and I was delighted to know that not only does it hold up, but it is also significantly better than I recalled. The adult humor was just as common if not more often seen than the humor meant for children. The characters were well rounded and their decisions made sense, the political actions that were taken and the legal fall out of those actions all seemed plausible. It was easy to see how a family of superheroes would end up the way the Parr’s did in the world that was created. All of these praises can be carried over into the second Incredibles as well.
The second film picks up exactly where the previous one ended, after the last film I expected the family to be free to do superheroing once again but I was confused as to how that would be allowed. Though we quickly see that the world has not changed, the government still wants superheroes out of the way and the Parr family is in deep trouble for attempting hero work. As lame as that may sound that made perfect sense to me considering the world rules that were created for The Incredibles and I appreciated that they actually stuck to those rules instead of tossing them out the window the second it got inconvenient for the writers as so many other films do. The political themes of whether or not superheroes should be legal are carried over to this film and serves as the main plot device as well.
Synopsis
After the uproar of disapproval from their fight against the Underminer, the Parr family is visited by a wealthy businessman who loves superheroes and wants to launch a campaign to bring them back with Elastigirl as the flagship hero. Though their campaign goes awry once a new supervillain emerges called the Screen Slaver.
Characters
One of my favorite parts of the Incredibles movies is that despite being animated, despite the stylized cartoony character designs, most of the characters are relatable, rather well rounded, and have clear motivations that drive the character. Unfortunately, this cannot be said for every character featured but it is definitely true for most of them. Especially in Incredibles 2.
Helen Parr / Elastigirl
Female empowerment is becoming more popular in today’s media and that continues with the female lead of the Incredibles. One thing that I appreciated was that Elastigirl was chosen for the campaign to bring back superheroes not because she was a woman, but because she was the best candidate.
Whereas the first Incredibles is Mr. Incredibles movie, the sequel is Elastigirl’s. She is the poster hero for the superhero return campaign and promotes heroics as well as female empowerment. She is an incredibly smart and witty character who genuinely feels like she could be a real person based on her reactions to things, the thoughts that she has and her general demeanor. When an animated character who can stretch like rubber feels as real as Helen Parr does, you know they are well written. Her worries and cares are often not explicitly stated though you can still understand what it is she is after from scene to scene, which really follows the old film rule “show don’t tell” perfectly. Despite being on the same team, she also acts as a pretty great foil for Bob Parr.
Bob Parr / Mr. Incredible
With Elastigirl we get a character who is very smart and makes sure all of her moves are careful and calculated. On the opposite end, there is Mr. Incredible who acts without thinking using his brute strength first. This stark difference creates an interesting dynamic whenever the duo is on screen together whether that be in battle or in parenting. Bob finds that he needs to accept that sometimes things can’t be done his way and he learns how to adapt to those changes which make for great scenes of him as a stay at home dad.
Violet Parr
In both films, we see a somewhat subplot involving Violet wanting to have the life of a normal teenager, however, this mainly just means wanting to have a date with her high school crush. Other than that, the other aspects of teenage life are pretty much ignored. That being said, the way in which she acts and the things that she says to her parents are pretty much dead on the behaviors of a teenager so the writing is pretty good there. However, I do have to complain about her almost dynamic change. After she found out that she was erased from the memory of her crush she decided that she renounces superheroism and attempts to destroy her suit. This decision held no real weight as roughly 20 min later she decides to dawn the superhero suit once more. This may be a deliberate choice in which the writers decided to have the teenage character have an outburst and then make a decision only to immediately go back on that decision, which is very much something that a teenager would do.
Dash Parr
The biggest complaint I had with The Incredibles 2 character wise was Dash. Dash seems to just be there, he doesn’t really have his own scenes or his own desires. He is purely there to just assist whoever else is in the scene with him. The only real thing that he did on his own was steal the Incredobile back. Aside from that, he doesn’t really make decisions on his own, he doesn’t have scenes in which he is the focus and always just seems to be an accessory to those around him. Even the infant Jack-Jack has scenes in which he is the focus, but for one of the members of the family who is the subject of the film, I wish that Dash had played a larger role or at least had more done with him.
Plot
One of my favorite things about this movie was that the plot so perfectly set you up to believe one thing was going to happen that it totally catches you off guard when you find out you were wrong. I always love watching films for the second time and seeing all the signs that point toward the twist, especially when it’s to the point of me asking myself “How did I not see this coming?” It makes the second viewing so much more enjoyable while still providing an unpredictable plot the first time around. In addition to having a great plot twist, another thing that I appreciated about this film is that the vast majority of it felt largely possible. Despite being a world of superheroes the world made sense. In addition to that, the motives behind the villain’s hatred of superheroes were actually rather justified. You can understand what lead the character down the path that ended up with them being a villain.
Visuals
I had the pleasure of watching this film in 4K and let me tell you the graphics were just as good as what they were in the theater. It looks fantastic. The overall graphics are great and there were many aspects that deserve recognition. One of the things that catches the eye is the hair movements, you can see each individual strand move and it almost seems real. This is true for both the characters and as well as the raccoon. The lighting is just about as realistic as animated films can get which is even more impressive considering that the film isn’t made with realism front and center. There are also many subtle movements that you see one character’s action causes a reaction with another character such as one character will touch another and you see the second characters skin/hair/clothes react the way how it would.
Overall:
Incredibles 2 is a fantastic movie that is just as good as the featuring amazing graphics a super accurate representation of a family dynamic and it even plays with physics in an extra interesting fun way. The story is rather original and has a pretty cool twist in it as well as a slew of awesome characters. As for the special features of the film, one added feature is the mini-movie that goes in-depth on what happened with Jack-Jack and Edna Mode the night that Bob dropped him off. In addition to the special features, there is also an alternate cut available on the Blu-Ray that removes the strobe light sequences from the film. When the film was released there was an issue with people having epileptic seizures and this alternate cut will allow those who are prone to seizures to still enjoy the film.
