Review of Incredibles 2 (2018) by Ahmedaiman9999 — 18 Jun 2018

The original Incredibles is not only one of my favorite animated movies, but it's also one of my favorite superhero movies ever. So there's no doubt that this long-awaited sequel was one of my most anticipated movies of this year, especially before seeing the trailers! I didn't like the trailers, the first one in particular, because I predicted that this movie would lean heavily on a formula we got tired of. This formula includes two messages; the female empowerment, and "taking care of your family is the true superheroic act", and that's exactly what we got in this movie, especially the first message, it's a political issue, so .... why not? This formula didn't just make everything in the movie looks like I've seen million times before, but it also made this movie feels outdated. Actually, the problem isn't only related to the messages, but the plot itself is formulaic and outdated for a superhero movie. Almost everything happens, every event, every element, every part in this movie is archetypal.

The developments of the story are typical. The characters are slightly developed, but also in away that doesn't feel authentic or original by any means.

The villain, Screenslaver, is stereotypical and feels if he comes from an old cheesy superhero movie, or an animated movie from any animation studio except Pixar. This villain even acts like The Joker, so that's saying something. Even his motives are well-worn, and he revealed them in a single monologue. Yes, this very monologue that Syndrome mocked in the original movie. So don't expect a villain like Syndrome. So don't expect to see a villain like Syndrome. And of course, we have a plot twist in this movie but I saw it coming from far away, so it definitely didn't work. Also, what leads us to the ending is rushed and quite absurd. Nevertheless, there are some subtle plot details in the part when Elastigirl was fighting crime. They leaned so heavily on the humor in this sequel. The humor wasn't bad at first. In fact, almost every joke that is related to Jack-Jack worked, and I couldn't help but burst out in laughter almost every time he made a single noise. But the jokes became repetitive, so they lost all their sharpness. Also, the timing of the humor was very bad at the third act. What's worse, at least for me, is that they made Bob Parr a total moron so he can be the comic relief while making Elastigirl the real heroine of the movie. Now, Dash is my favorite Incredible! What a likable character he is! He is very cool, and all his actions are fit for his age. That gave this character a sense of reality. In fact, all the characters act if they were real. When they interact with each other, when they get tired, when they become happy, when they laugh, even when they breathe they feel if they were actual people, if they were humans, and that's really INCREDIBLE! All the cast is great, as usual. But Holly Hunter who shines in this sequel. She gave even more energy Helen Parr/Elastigirl.

I was worried because they replaced Spencer Fox, the original actor who voiced Dash, but I think Huck Milner is even better! Frozone had much more time in this sequel, and that made this character seems much more like Samuel L. Jackson, and of course this is a bonus! Jack Jack's new abilities are basically perfect, both in what his powers are and in how they are revealed. Michael Giacchino's score is gold, and well-used. The animation is top-notch and seamless. But it's the action in this movie that should have a fair share of praise. Incredibles 2 has some of the most thrilling and exhilarating action sequences ever in an animated movie, if not memorable enough. The movie full of flashing lights that aren't just annoying, but they really can be harmful to the eyes, especially if you watched the movie in 3D. I'm sorely disappointed, but I'll try as much as I can not to make my let-down affect my rating, especially because most of the issues I've with this movie are related to one thing, the triteness that I, as a Disney/Pixar fan, didn't get used to.