Review of Incredibles 2 (2018) by Kangelo02 — 17 Jun 2018

Following a brief and sincere 'Sorry for keeping you waiting' video package with the voice actors acknowledging the 14-year gap from the first film, Incredibles 2 delivers and exceeds our expectations we've had this last 1 1/2 decade. There's a bit of a timelessness to this film in that you have the old-designed cars, the dapper news anchors and the black and white tv's of yester-year but we've also go high speed trains, high technology suits and...what else...oh yes, superheroes. They don't directly (from what I remember) state the year/period that Incredibles 2 takes place, but the hints are there. Not having lived it, it was great that my enjoyment of the film was not hindered by the fact that I didn't know the references, if any, there were to the 'golden era.'

The plot was solid, further playing on the first film's initial struggle of 'superheroes being outlawed' and it showcased how fickle the masses can be. The introduction of the brother/sister corporate duo made synapses in my movie-goer head think "okay, who's the villain? Her? Him? Both?" I won't go into it but that may have ruined a bit of the movie for me as I was trying to find the twist instead of enjoying it as it came to me. Introduction of 'other heroes' was cool and funny, making for some accent comedy which is almost never not funny, but hopefully they'll be utilized more in a potential 3rd film.

The action felt a bit heavy handed by the end, almost clumping all the match-ups to the last 30 minutes of the film. Certain fight scenes could have benefited from an extra 5 minutes, but I'd be okay if any extra time was devoted to Jack Jack and his furry foe.

Speaking of Jack Jack, I could not be happier with how they handled him. Let's get this off my chest first: HE IS CUTE AS THE DAY IS BRIGHT AND AS THE MOON IS BIG. SO SO SOSOSO CUTE. I like how the studio knew how popular he became by the end of the first film that his screen time was essentially doubled, tripled, and doubled one more time for good measure.

One highlight moment for me was Elasti-girl, who's become the public protagonist in this film, in pursuit of her archenemy. Through coincidentally advantageous technology, Elasti-girl hops from night-time rooftops to alleys and everywhere in between, following the signal. What makes this scene so engaging is the silent nature of it all minus the villain's monologue (broadcasting over television) and how it becomes that scene's audio track. It felt like being a spy and not knowing what's going to pop around the corner. I knew it was too quiet in that scene and having that eerily static voice drone on about taking over the city/tri-state area/world/universe made it more tense than any Pixar film should make me feel.

Did it have good action? Could have had more, but I'm happy with what I saw. Did it surpass the first film? Yes, I can say yes without a doubt. Did it make me want a third film? For sure. Director Brad Bird said it himself that you don't need to see the first to enjoy this, but it will help give it some depth. Watch this one now, then go watch the first, then watch this another time. Rinse and repeat until the 3rd one comes out.