That’s Incredible?
Does Pixar’s superhero saga return to form after a decade on the shelf?
PG 1:58
Back in action 14 years after their first movie mission, the Incredibles prove more than worth the wait in their totally wicked new sequel.
Cinema’s first family of superheroes (sorry, not sorry “Fantastic Four”) springs back into an action in “The Incredibles 2,” another superpowered animated espionage adventure from ace writerdirector Brad Bird and the rest of the brilliant minds at Disney/Pixar.
The long-waited sequel begins literally right where the beloved 2004 blockbuster “The Incredibles” ended, with burrowing baddie The Underminer (Pixar favorite John Ratzenberger) smashing his giant drill through the city streets right in front of the seemingly ordinary Parr family – dad Robert (Craig T. Nelson), mom Helen (Holly Hunter), teenage daughter Violet (Oklahoma native Sarah Vowell), tween son Dash (Huck Milner, replacing the now-grown Spencer Fox) and toddler Jack-Jack (Eli Fucile).
Of course, the Parrs are actually famed superheroes Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl, who have just pulled off some impressive derring-do, with the help of the forcefield-flinging Violet and high-speed Dash, to defeat an old adversary on a deserted island. When their attempt to overthrow The Underminder, with the aid of their perpetually cool pal Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson), gets a little messy, the family is forcefully reminded that “supers” are still legally prohibited from doing hero work.
But their heroics get the attention of communications tycoon Winston Deavor (Bob Odenkirk) and his tech-savvy inventor sister Evelyn (Catherine Keener), who recruit Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl and Frozone into their carefully market-researched plans to rehabilitate the supers’ building-smashing image so that the public will support the costumed crusaders legally returning to action.
Given her penchant flexibility and finesse, the siblings’ research indicates that Elastigirl is the best hero to take point on this mission, which is a blow to the supersized ego of her more famous husband. Previously a somewhat neglectful father, Mr. Incredible reluctantly throws himself into the role of super dad and quickly learns that parenting isn’t for the faint of heart, especially when Dash is having trouble with math, Violet is having trouble with a boy, and Jack-Jack has finally managed to manifest not one but a myriad of uncontrolled superpowers.
The adorably babbling baby’s shape-shifting, dimensional-phasing, spontaneously combusting outbursts provide some of the film’s funniest moments, especially when he faces off against a trashraiding raccoon and when his exhausted dad recruits acerbic superhero costume designer Edna Mode (Bird) to babysit.
It’s refreshing to see Elastigirl providing most of the sequel’s octaneboosted action sequences, as she zips through the streets on a specially designed motorcycle made to maximize her stretchy frame, stops a runaway high-speed monorail and battles a mysterious new nemesis named The Screenslaver (Bill Wise), a wily hacker who uses the screen on any electronic device to hypnotize people.
Clearly, the societal themes Bird is exploring are timelier than ever, and the movie’s shiny, retrofuturistic look and Michael Giacchino’s spy-movie score are as fresh as they were 14 years ago. But Bird’s sequel story spends too much splitting up the Incredibles, introducing colorful new supers that can’t compete with the playful banter and burgeoning teamwork of the Parr family.
Still, “Incredibles 2” will have fans hoping they won’t have to wait a decade or more for the next installment, especially after a brief post-credits scene gives a hint of what type of crime-fighting adventures the next sequel might have in store.
Starring: The voices of Holly Hunter, Craig T. Nelson, Samuel L. Jackson, Sarah Vowell, Huck Milner, Bob Odenkirk and Catherine Keener (action sequences and some brief mild language).
— Brandy McDonnell,
The Oklahoman