Review of Incredibles 2 (2018) by Mikayla J — 25 Sep 2018

This review has SPOILERS for Incredibles 2.

I went into Incredibles 2 with high hopes. After all, this is a movie 14 years in the making. But when I walked out of the cinema, I wanted to like it. I was looking for reasons to love this movie, but the truth is I didn't even like it.

I love the original film made in the early 2000s. It has heart, humor, and a great message about the importance of family. Incredibles 2 is a half-cooked version of all of that. Incredibles 2 has solid humor, but isn't near the level of comedic talent displayed in The Incredibles. I'll get to the other two points later.

There are new characters featured in Incredibles 2. The Deavor siblings provide an interesting dynamic. Winston and Evelyn looked promising until poor scriptwriting stole any interest I had for them pretty early on. Winston wants to make superheroes legal again because he is a big fan. Evelyn helps her brother to make this goal a reality, but secretly she want to make superheroes illegal and she has a complex plan to complete her goal. The thing is, superheroes are already illegal and Winston can't accomplish his goal without Evelyn. So she could just not help him to begin with.

Disney has had a tendency to lean on "twist" villains lately and the Screenslaver has been their most predictable one yet (Really Disney? Evelyn Deavor=evil endeavor). Evelyn had a lot of potential. If her plan just made more sense I would have really enjoyed her character.

A brand new squad of supers was also introduced in this movie. Instead of being unique, new characters with new personalities, we got bland minions for our heroes to face at the end of the movie. I will make a small exception for Void. She had personality and spunk, just no screen time to solidify her role.

The message of Incredibles 2 is hard to decipher. The film tries to say a lot without really going anywhere with its' ideas. It tries to tackle topics like police body cameras, screen addictions, feminism, the struggles of parenting, equal rights, the list goes on. I just didn't come away with anything by the time the credits began.

The returning characters do a decent job in Incredibles 2. Elastigirl/Mrs. Incredible is fine. Violet is good. Dash is in it. Jack-Jack is there to serve as the obstacle for the b-plot. Mr. Incredible is a selfish, slightly jerky dad (again). Edna has no reason to really be in the movie, but she is good regardless. Frozone is a fine as well.

Incredibles 2 wasn't the worst animated movie of all time. I just expect more from a sequel of the likes of The Incredibles or from Pixar Studios. Hopefully, Pixar can drift away from sequels again since they can't produce at the same level as the originals.