INCREDIBLES 2
More than up to Parr
Pixar’s superfamily fly back onto the big screen after a 14-year absence and face a new nemesis.
released OUT NOW! PG | 125 minutes Director Brad Bird Cast Holly Hunter, Craig T Nelson, sarah Vowell, Huck Milner, Bob Odenkirk, Catherine Keener
While not the lengthiest wait for a sequel in the record books, 14 years is, by any measure, A Long Time. With a film as well-crafted, respected and loved as The Incredibles, the anticipation has built expectations to a height you’d need an oxygen mask to survive. So, can Incredibles 2 actually live up to them, or does it come crashing down to earth under the weight of all the pressure? Fortunately, when Brad Bird said that he’d only make a follow-up when he had a story worth bringing to the screen, he wasn’t just cranking up the hype machine: the second outing for the Parrs delivers.
Picking up right where the original adventure left off, the new one rockets us straight back into the action, as the family works together to defeat the Underminer (voiced, as before, by Pixar’s vocal lucky charm, John Ratzenberger). But that doesn’t mean an automatic happy ending: in the Parrs’ world, superheroes are still outlawed, and the fallout from the encounter with the Underminer means they’re brought in by the police and then relocated once again – partly because their home was destroyed in the last film.
Hope arrives in the form of tech mogul Winston Deavor (Bob Odenkirk), who wants to throw his support behind getting the law changed and supers returned to their former, governmentapproved heroic status. If the idea of a tempting offer sounds similar to the plot from the 2004 outing, you’re not wrong. It could smack of Bird just going back to the same well. Yet he’s cannily figured out a way to make that work for him, subverting expectations by having Holly Hunter’s Helen (aka Elastigirl) be the focus of the attention. This allows for a rich new vein of storytelling, themes and humour to arise, all while continuing the considered story of a family that is like so many others, just with a little something extra.
Incredibles 2 also finds Bob (Craig T Nelson) struggling with parenting, feeling just a bit emasculated now that his wife is off fighting crime while he’s getting headaches with the maths from son Dash’s new school and looking after baby Jack-Jack. Speaking of whom, the infant member of the family steals several scenes as his powers manifest in fun ways; a particular highlight is his battle with a garden creature boasting the physical comedy abilities to rival Scrat from the Ice Age films. And the child’s need for something to keep him from burning/shooting/ transporting through anything around also means a funny, touching visit back to fashion designer extraordinaire Edna Mode (Bird, reprising the role to great effect). She’s best used in small doses, something the sequel remembers.
The world around the Parrs is full of imagination and wit
While the family faces challenges, so did the technical team working behind the scenes, faced with bringing the characters to life in the same stylised fashion as their previous appearance, while also taking advantage of advances in animation technology in the decade plus that has gone by since. Suffice to say, the Incredibles still look great as characters, and the world around them is gloriously retro while full of invention, wit and brio – complemented by yet another funky, pulsing score from composer Michael Giacchino.
All that attractive wrapping, however, would mean nothing if you didn’t care about the story, and Incredibles 2 certainly gives most of the family and Samuel L Jackson’s Frozone something to do. Dash (newcomer Huck Milner) is slightly underutilised again, as he’s mostly just excited to be in action, but even he gets some nice grace notes. Daughter Violet (Sarah Vowell), meanwhile, is still struggling with adolescent dating pains and enjoys the chance to embrace her heroic side.
While there are one or two familiar beats lurking within and it doesn’t always exactly re-invent the superhero wheel (a far trickier needle to thread in this Marvelheavy world), Incredibles 2 was well worth the wait. About as far from a lazy cash-grab as possible, this new superhero outing bottles the same lively vibe as the original and makes you glad the Parr family has finally returned to our screens. “You’re not good,” Violet says at one point, “you’re super.” The same can be said of the movie.