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| Incredibles 2 (2018) |
So, this film picks up right where the previous left off. And, I don't just mean that the opening scene is the Underminer fight. I mean, it actually continues the stories told in the original and doesn't just tell the same story again. For a sequel made 14 years after the original, that's a huge feat. And, there are quite a few threads that continue from the first movie. Jack-Jack's powers, Violet and Tony, superhero rights, this feels like a seamless follow-on. You could probably marathon the first movie directly into the second and it would feel incredibly natural. What helps is that the soundtrack is still as amazing as ever, and whenever that main theme plays, it's phenomenal. The first Incredibles movie probably has may favourite soundtrack of any Pixar film, and I'm happy to say that this film's soundtrack is just as strong.
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| Holly Hunter as Elastigirl |
Talking about what's improved here, the animation is expectedly better. This animation style is downright exceptional, and it still feels very 'Brad Bird', in that the characters feel like they were initially hand-drawn and then transformed into 3D figures from there. Of course, the technology's improved, so it goes without saying that the characters look better, but everything from the environments to the super-powers themselves are all stunning. I also feel as though this film delivered more laughs than the original. This is a hilarious movie. Anything that Jack-Jack does is gold, but really, every character gets at least one home-run comedically, and there's thankfully very few jokes that are dumbed down specifically for the kids. It's very accessible, and quite clever at times, with the jabs at society that you'd expect from Brad Bird. The film also explores a few themes that I feel are very relevant to society today. Granted, since it's a kids' film, it's a bit on-the-nose at times, but they're still good themes to explore in a kids' movie, and I'm glad they ended up doing what they did with some of them.
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| Craig T. Nelson as Bob Parr |
The character interactions between the Parr family are still the best thing about this franchise. Right from that first scene with the family taking on the Underminer, the dynamic between them all is on point, and this is another thing that really makes that 14 year gap between the movies seem very insignificant. When the film focuses on their home lives, particularly with Bob at the helm, it's all very nice stuff. There's a side-story with Violet that I particularly enjoy as well, mainly because in a household with three sisters, it was all very relatable. In fact, that's the key word with the family here: relatable. It's the same thing the first movie had on its side: the family felt like a real family. Not everything was always peachy keen or all sunshine and rainbows like you see from a lot of kids' movies. On the other side, the action scenes are all fantastic. They're fast-paced and energetic and take advantage of the fact that it's a cartoon and they push the boundaries of our suspension of disbelief just enough to deliver the goods. Elastigirls' powers are given the focus, and those scenes of her in action are among the best, but what's also great here is the wider variety of powers on display. The first film basically stuck to the family and Frozone, but there are quite a lot of side characters here with some really unique abilities that are great fun to watch in action.
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| Sarah Vowell as Violet Parr |
Alright, so in what areas does this film not quite compare to the original? Well, first and most obviously is the villain. Syndrome was an exceptional villain in the first movie, whereas the villain here is just... fine. They do they're job well enough, and they're threatening enough as a villain, but they never quite reached the heights of Syndrome for me. It also became a little obvious at times, but I'm saying that as a 22-year-old here. If I was a little kid watching this, it might have been more of a surprise. Additionally, while this film was funnier than the first, I feel like the first film had much more heart. Not that there wasn't any care in this one, that's not what I'm saying. There wasn't quite as much emotion here, and the heartfelt scenes they do have are still great, but there weren't quite as many of them as in the original. Finally, and this really isn't a problem, but I feel the need to address it here: there are quite a few instances of the film referencing or calling back to the original, which can be a problem in some sequels when it just devolves into 'Remember this from the last film? Remember this from the original?' Thankfully, it never quite goes to that extreme, and the callbacks they have here all service the plot in some way, so I was fine with it, but if that's not your thing, beware.
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| The Screenslaver |
There could have been so many ways this film would fail after a 14 year wait, but Incredibles 2 (2018) is a brilliant follow-up to a masterpiece of a movie. It's not quite as good as the original for me, but when the bar is that high, there's certainly no shame in a silver medal. 8.5/10.
Watching this film has really made me want to go back through Pixar's catalogue and watch or re-watch their movies. I probably won't devote an entire month to it, primarily because there's not enough films to make up a month but also I won't have the time, so I may just throw a Pixar review in here and there when I can. Be on the lookout for them.
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