"The Incredibles 2" Review: A Fun Yet Disappointingly Safe Reunion
As a lover of animated films, Pixar frustrates me. On one hand, they've created some of the greatest animated films to date, having created mesmerizing, wonderful cinematic experiences. But on the other hand, Pixar has definitely changed as a studio over the last decade - many would argue that that change has been for the worse. We've seen Pixar pump out sequels and prequels that no one really wanted - I'm aware this is anecdotal, but I don't recall anyone asking for a Monsters, Inc. prequel or two sequels to Cars.
And yet Pixar has proven over the last decade that they still have the magic that so made so many of us fall in love with Pixar in the first place. For every Cars 2, there's an Inside Out. For every Good Dinosaur, there's a Coco. Pixar frustrates me because of their inconsistency - they're capable of making great films, but the last ten years or so have shown that they're willing to make mediocre films as well.
Enter The Incredibles 2, a film that I was admittedly on the fence about upon hearing about its production. To be clear, I'm a fan of the original film - as with most Pixar films of its era, I've seen it more times than I'd like to admit. To be honest, though, I never felt that a sequel was necessary. While the original film ends with a light cliffhanger with the Underminer being revealed, I never felt that this sequence was intended to foreshadow a sequel. Moreover, while I certainly liked The Incredibles, I've always preferred seeing new IP over sequels to films. While I greatly enjoyed The Incredibles, I was more interested in seeing Pixar explore new worlds, rather than staying in one that they already created.
Though, perhaps I'm in the minority on that. In the 14 years since the release of The Incredibles, there's been a lot of anticipation of the June's sequel. The first Incredibles is regarded by some to be one of Pixar's best films, causing many to eagerly await seeing what Pixar had in store for the continuation that was fourteen years in the making. The Incredibles' blending of superhero action with the Parr family trying to lead normal lives despite having superpowers was a premise that was excellently explored in the first film.
While the trailers and pre-release footage for the film didn't necessarily excite me nor give me confidence that The Incredibles 2 would be as good as the original, I remained cautiously optimistic for the sequel.
With that said, was The Incredibles 2 worth the wait? Well, both yes and no. Let's talk about why.
To my surprise, the film starts immediately after the events of the first film, with an exciting action sequence showcasing the film's titular family of heroes within the first five minutes of the film. This sequence does a great job of welcoming back fans of the first movie, while simultaneously bringing moviegoers unfamiliar with the first film up to speed with what the powers of each family member are. Moreover, the illegality of superheroes, a key component of The Incredibles' lore, is quickly brought to our understanding as the aftermath of this action sequence reveals the troubled relationship between superheroes and political officials due to the destruction that superheroes contribute towards.
However, this film's main plot revolves around a chance to combat the negative connotations the society places towards superheroes. Following the sequence with the Underminer, Lucius (Frozone), a family friend and fellow superhero voiced by Samuel L. Jackson, is confronted by Winston Deavor, a representative of DEVTECH, a telecommunications company that wishes to restore the reputation of superheroes, and make them legal once again. Bob and Helen Parr (voiced by Craig T. Nelson and Holly Hunter, respectively) end up meeting with DEVTECH, where Helen reprises her superhero moniker of Elastigirl in pursuit of fighting crime and restoring the legality and reputation of superheroes.
Meanwhile, Bob is left to manage the family's three kids, with each kid having dilemma that Bob needs to help manage. Dash needs help with homework, Violet needs to manage her relationship (or lack thereof) with her love interest, and the young Jack Jack is beginning to develop new powers at an alarming rate.
The second act of this film balances these two plots very expertly. When we're with Elastigirl, we encounter exciting superhero action sequences, seeing some familiar powers from Elastigirl, and seeing some new powers from new superheroes that weren't present in the first film. This keeps action sequences full of visual diversity - something that keeps all action sequences visually stimulating and creative.
As Elastigirl embarks on traditional superhero fare - rescuing civilians from a runaway train, slinging herself through the air with her elasticity, and so on -, she eventually encounters the Screenslaver, who controls people through their dependence on technology. And so Elastigirl investigates what the Screenslaver's motives, while still staying in touch with the rest of her family.
And yet it's these very sequence where I found the film to be at its best. The scenes where we see the rest of the Parr family living their lives keeps the film comfortably grounded. Additionally, these scenes help develop Bob and his relationship with each of his kids, which gave me a greater appreciation for the real creativity of The Incredibles. Seeing how a superpowered family undergoes regular familial struggles despite using their superpowers pretty regularly creates intriguing, yet relatable scenarios.
What's more is that these conflicts are difficult for Bob - despite having superpowers, Bob still struggles with the everyday conflicts of raising a family. In that regard, The Incredibles 2 nails the message of parenting itself being a brave duty worth admiring. While this is directly stated within the film, something I found to be a bit on the heavy-handed and unnecessary side, I feel that the message of parenting being as brave and important as doing traditional superhero duties is something that reminded of why The Incredibles hit a cord with so many people in the first place.
As the third act merges the two main plots of Helen and the rest of the Parr family, I couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed by the relatively safe direction of the story. Without spoiling anything, the identity and motives of the Screenslaver, for me, were predictable and not explored as thoughtfully as they could have been.
Moreover, while the film does a great job of delivering more of The Incredibles, it also...well, just gives us more of The Incredibles. There's nothing accomplished in this film that wasn't accomplished in the first film, and as such, The Incredibles 2 doesn't feel as refreshing and inventive as its predecessor. While we do see the additions of different superheroes and different powers, the overall plot, structure, and writing of the film feels very similar to the first film.
This doesn't necessarily make the film bad, just disappointingly safe. I never felt like this film went into new territory for this franchise. Toy Story 3, what I would argue to be the best sequel that Pixar has ever made, was so great because it put familiar characters into completely new scenarios with different characters that helped make the film have a completely different identity from the first two films. With The Incredibles 2, the identity of this film feels very similar to the first, making for a movie that's certainly solid, fun, and worth seeing, but it is also not something that I would consider better than the original.
Additionally, while some key characters such as Bob, Helen, and Violet are really well developed and have satisfying arcs throughout the film, other characters such as Dash and Lucius feel underdeveloped and even one-note. I would have appreciated it if the film used more time to develop the entire cast to prevent some key characters from feeling more rounded out than others.
With great voice acting, phenomenal animation, and an overall quick pace to the film, The Incredibles 2 is fundamentally solid film. In fact, if there's any word to best describe The Incredibles 2, it's solid. It's well written, well produced, and doesn't have anything that I would consider poorly executed. But at the same time, The Incredibles 2 doesn't deliver anything that I haven't seen before. This is a remarkably fun film, but it's also a safe one. You won't be seeing anything in this film that hasn't been done by the first Incredibles or any other superhero movie.
Was The Incredibles 2 worth the 14 year wait? In a sense, no - while we were certainly given more Incredibles action, we didn't really get anything beyond that, which feels disappointing. And yet, this is an ostensibly enjoyable film that gives fans more of what they enjoyed in the first film - for better and for worse.
If you've been looking forward to finally seeing the Parr family return, this installment will certainly satisfy that craving. I just wish that The Incredibles 2 dared to offer more than just that.
Final Grade: B-
Thank you for reading! What did you think of The Incredibles 2? As always, join the conversation and let me know!
