“That’s MY car!”
The Parr family welcomes us again to the world of supers
Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios
★★★★★
Incredibles 2
Directed by Brad Bird
Written by Brad Bird
Starring Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Huck Milner, Samuel L. Jackson
Rated PG
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The creative mind behind The Iron Giant, Ratatouille, and the first The Incredibles has finally given rise to the Incredibles 2, the long-awaited sequel after its predecessor’s cliffhanger ending.
Now, full disclosure, sequels generally have a pretty sour reputation in the film community for a variety of reasons. In some cases, the sequel idea may have been handed off to a different crew to write and produce, and thus it can’t do the first installment justice or live up to the hype that was the first movie. The first movie may have been just an “okay” movie, which means the sequel is just bad. In other cases, the first installment was always a perfectly fine movie on its own, and having a sequel is just plain unnecessary.
In the case of the Incredibles 2, however, none of these things are the case. The writer and director, Brad Bird, also worked on The Incredibles, which was an amazing movie that touched the childhood and lives of most who watched it. As mentioned before, The Incredibles ended in a massive cliffhanger, with the Underminer bursting forth through the pavement of a parking lot. Having just ended the threat of Syndrome, the Parr family are already suited up and more than ready to take on this abrupt villainous appearance. That’s how the first movie ends, with the perfect setup for the sequel that has now been 14 years in the making. And if all these signs weren’t enough to tell you, I’ll let you know straight up now: the Incredibles 2 is well worth the 14-year wait. In fact, it’s probably one of the best sequels I’ve ever seen.
Plot-wise, it’s fairly simple, though thankfully the film doesn’t pander only to children. With supers still illegal thanks to the reforms laid in place in the first movie, the Parr family has to go back into hiding despite the theatrics involved in stopping Syndrome. Welcome Evelyn and Winston Deavor, a brother and sister duo who wish to make supers legal again via their high-tech telecommunications company, DevTech. Their first motion of business? Have Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) fight crime with a microscopic camera attached to her suit, so that the world can see how good supers can be. Flattered, Helen Parr excitedly takes the job, leaving her husband (Craig T. Nelson) to be the stay-at-home dad.
This is where the movie shows one of its many great themes. Heroism can mean stopping runaway trains or stopping a bomb from going off and saving innocent lives, but heroism can also mean doing what it takes to be a great parent. While Elastigirl saves Municiberg from the clutches of the newfound villain Screenslaver, Mr. Incredible must juggle helping Dash (Huck Milner) with his math homework, keeping tabs on Violet’s (Sarah Vowell) love life, and handling Jack-Jack (Eli Fucile) as he develops more and more superpowers by the second. Despite both occupations being fundamentally different, there is value in saving a city as well as putting in the effort to rear and love children.
Another bit I absolutely love about the movie is its soundtrack. It has the same jazzy, feel-good tunes. The perfect thrilling melodies come on for the action sequences. And maybe it’s just me, but I love it when the scene I’m watching flows perfectly with the musical cues I’m hearing. Not to mention the composer is Michael Giacchino, who has composed for other works such as Up, Ratatouille, Zootopia, Coco, Jurassic World, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and many more.
Now, the only obvious downside to this movie is the setup for the villain. From the start, it was pretty obvious who would end up being the culprit, yet I feel it didn’t take away from the plot all too much. Your investment ends up being with the development of the Parr family, and the villain is just another device that brings the family even closer together in the end.
So, with stunning visuals, great music, and a well-written story, the Incredibles 2 is a movie I’d highly recommend to audiences of all ages, especially if you loved The Incredibles growing up.