Written by: Brad Bird
Starring: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson
IMDb Link
Sequels almost never live up to the original, and Incredibles 2 is no exception, but being only somewhat less good than the greatest animated movie of all time still makes it excellent overall, especially when it draws from such perfect material.
Fortunately, the most important aspect of The Incredibles, the humanising familial interactions, are here once again and as meaningful as ever. Bob's conflict over letting Helen take the lead for the family by doing something he'd spent the last fifteen years wanting to do creates an important conflict between them that Bob spends the better part of the movie learning to adapt to as part of his new home life. It's really the bulk of the movie that feels just as good as the first; the scenes are all as human as you would expect, with everything from embarrassing attempts to help Violet (Sarah Vowell) to his constant battle to put Jack-Jack (Eli Fucile) to bed. Bob's clear lack of understanding of how to deal with this life makes his efforts to do so that much more endearing, down to the moment when an overtired Bob stays up long after he should've gone to bed just so he can help Dash (Huck Milner) with Dash's math homework. It's also where most of the film's comedy comes from; the entire film could have just been about Jack-Jack discovering his powers while fighting a raccoon he confuses for a burglar, because that scene is so wonderfully creative, both in terms of comedic moments and fantastic animation. The conflicts and bonds between the family here are tested and stronger than ever because of it, and the film is as relatable as the first because of it.
Unfortunately, that also leaves Helen out of most of the familial bonding, which would be fine if what she was doing instead really contributed to the growth and improvement of her character as it did for Bob in the first, but the plot and villainy of her side of this movie is mostly underwhelming and furthers very little about her. Her scenes are excellently crafted, for sure; the action is fast-paced and incredibly slick, taking advantage of Elastigirl's powers for maximum effect, regularly showing off the creativity of the film's animation and direction, but most of what her character is about at first merely feeds back in to Bob's growth and change without affecting her, and after that we don't get much for her as character until she's back with her family. This seems largely to do with the villain's plot, which is generic and presented blandly compared to everything else, and doesn't have anything to do with Helen personally. It gives her something to do, but once the film establishes why she's doing it there's not a lot of examination of that idea; there's a scant moment where she can't help Dash finding his shoes because she's on a mission, and some discussions help show her somewhat nuanced perspective on heroics and the power of the individual, but that sort of thing doesn't come back to her in a significant way. It's okay, but it's no replacement for Syndrome and Bob's personal responsibility for his creation and the brilliant meta-commentary on superhero tropes.
That said, everything else here is really great and deserves recognition for drawing on, making anew and even sometimes improving upon its predecessor. The action and animation I've already mentioned, combining incredible pacing and energy with beautifully rendered movement and effects; the initial chase with The Underminer is a fantastic note to start out on and sets the standard for great action sequences and fluid animation for this year. Speaking of notes, the score is just brilliant here, sometimes better, utilising the core of the old themes to make some really smooth tracks that ebb and flow with the pace of the action and keep that big band energy, with a certain relaxed touch to contrast Elastigirl's much more measured approach with Mr. Incredible's bombastic take. The voice acting is great from everyone, who all just slip right back in to their roles as if they were only in them yesterday. It's really fantastic work from everyone involved.
The Short Version: Incredibles 2 gets the most important parts of The Incredibles right a second time around. The film is a powerhouse of animation and action direction with a perfectly humanising familial core, and these attributes more than make up for its generic plotting, bland villain and surprising under-development of Elastigirl.
Rating: 8/10
Published June 15th, 2018
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