Review of Incredibles 2 (2018) by Teddy F — 06 Jul 2018

Incredibles 2 is a fine production from the consistently good Pixar Studio, however it never attains the greatness of the original; then again, did that ever seem possible to begin with?

Like many others, I had always wanted a sequel to the Incredibles, especially considering how the first movie ended. And now many years later, here it is. To start, I'll brush over the obvious. The voice acting is great, much of the cast is the same from the original and where there are new voice actors replacing the old, you can't even tell; the animation is tremendous, there is not much left to say about that. Also, the Parr family continues to feel like an actual family and their interactions between one another are spot on. The Incredibles 2 has humor everyone can enjoy, and the writing seemed to be fine. Jack-Jack plays a bigger role in the film as the family begins to adapt to his powers, especially Mr. Incredible; this element of the story fits in well with the themes that continue from the first movie about family and responsibility. I liked seeing Elastigirl receive a chance to really shine and carry the movie for the first half or so; the way Mr. Incredible reacts to her being chosen over him to carry out secret superhero missions really reveals something about the dynamic between the couple. Incredibles 2 all-around is a worthy successor to the first one.

What brought this film down from the first one for me were a couple of small criticisms I had with characters not in the original and how the plot unfolds. A great component of the first film was the mystery behind it; when Mr. Incredible is sent to the island I remember being unsure of what was going to happen next and what was planned for him. In Incredibles 2, there is some mystery, but it unravels a bit more predictably and with a little less sting. Also, the antagonist of the film, the Screenslaver does not hold up to Syndrome from the first. While their intentions are plausible, the character is never as compelling or developed as Syndrome was. Some minor side superheroes that are introduced in the film also take away from the movie's realism. Despite being a movie about superheroes with special powers, the Incredibles movies find a way to stay partly grounded and I appreciate that. However, some of the new superheroes in the sequel come off and/or look silly.

While Incredibles 2 is a solid animated feature that is highly entertaining, without hesitation I can say the first one was more interesting and simply better.