Review of Incredibles 2 (2018) by Kevin P — 27 Jun 2018

Strengths: The key elements that worked in 2004 were clear again in this long-awaited sequel. Pixar never misses when it comes to the visual side of things, giving us another gorgeous animated movie. The voice cast was strong as always, from returning stars like Craig T. Nelson (Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible) to Holly Hunter (Helen Parr/Elastigrl) to Sarah Vowell (Violet Parr) to the new additions like Bob Odenkirk (Winston Deavor), Sophia Bush (Karen/Voyd) and Jonathan Banks (Rick Dicker). The action scenes were mostly well crafted. Even the smaller ones get attention to detail. For example, Voyd fights Violet in a short sequence, but its one that uses their powers creatively. The story remains one filled with character growth all around. I dig how the protagonist this go around is mainly Eliastigirl. It gives it a different feel from the original. The idea behind the Screenslaver villain is a good one and at cerain points, it felt like the heroes were in real trouble.

Weaknesses: Though the idea of the villain is strong, the execution lacks. The reveal that of who was behind it all came from a mile away. Catherine Keener (Evelyn Deavor) does her best with the character, itï¿ 1/2(TM)s just not one that feels all that interesting. If your main antagonist is going to be built around a plot twist, itï¿ 1/2(TM)s important not to make it an obvious one. I felt like Dash (Huckleberry Milner) was underutilized. There was almost no use of his powers, which is a shame because everyone else in the movie got time to shine.

Overall: A great, worthy sequel to an all-time great first film. It falls a notch below that one mainly thanks to a lesser villain, but this is still one hell of a fun ride.