Not bad, but not ‘Incredible’
AT LONG last the Incredibles are back. Fans had to sit by as Mike and Sully went to college and Dory got herself lost before we could see the continued adventures of The Incredibles. While there has been much fervour over their return, I never counted myself as one who sought it out.The first film is one that I consider near perfect and, frankly, these long awaited sequels are often hit or miss. Alas, Incredibles 2 is here.
Taking place mere moments after the end of the first film, Incredibles 2 is a direct sequel. While some might be disappointed at the family’s apparent arrested development, the film in no way keeps these characters the way they were. It’s clear that each of the characters has grown. Whether they’ve grown enough to warrant a fulllength feature is debatable. Still, their family ties are tested when Elastigirl is tasked with a new job doing “hero stuff”, leaving Mr Incredible to face his most dangerous task yet – parenting.
PLOT
With a plot that feels like it was pulled from an outdated sitcom, it’s best to note that while the first film had palpable family drama, its sequel is almost entirely a comedy. This is most notably, as it relates to Jack-Jack, the youngest of the family. His newfound powers make for a bulk of the film’s material dealing with Mr Incredible as a stayat-home Dad. I appreciated that Mr Incredible never felt like a hapless idiot at home. He actually would’ve performed admirably, had his infant not been spontaneously combustible.
That, I feel, helps to sum up Incredibles 2 well. It would have no problem being super, but because of a few choice elements here and there it’s simply just good. This is especially as it relates to the villain which, unfortunately, takes away from Elastigirl’s solo adventure, which is immeasurable in its importance as representation. You don’t often get a superhero film that talks about the necessity of female role models.
It is certainly charming to watch the Parrs interact. Pixar’s animation is unparalleled and, combined, with the stellar voice work across the board, you forget you’re watching an animated picture sometimes. It’s because the film was so able to immerse me in its world that it was so crushing when something would happen to take me out of it.
Rating: Half-Price