Review of The Incredibles (2004) by Jacob M — 29 Aug 2013

"Hey. We're superheroes. What could happen?".

When I first saw the trailers for The Incredibles, as a kid, I didn't know what to think. I knew it was made by Pixar, the studio who wowed me since the beginning with films like Toy Story and Finding Nemo, and the idea of a superhero family sounded cool to me. But I was also not a huge fan of cartoon superheroes, cause I feel that these shows are super cheesy and dumbs down the concept of superheroes. But when I finally got to see the film, I was wowed. Not only was it my favorite Pixar film upon first viewing, but now, as a film critic on RT, I still feel like The Incredibles is the greatest Pixar film of all-time. Better than Toy Story. Better than Nemo. Better than WALL-E. Better than Up. And better than Cars.

The Incredibles revolves on the world dominated by superheroes, led by the super strong Mr. Incredible and the stretchy Elastigirl. Everything goes well until many heroes are sued for stupid reasons and the supers are forced by the government to go into hiding. 15 years later, Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl, now married as Bob and Helen Parr, have a family with super abilities, and while Helen loves the idea of settling down, Bob is depressed and longs to return to the glory days, even going as far as sneaking out at night with buddy Frozone doing heroic acts. Bob then gets his chance when he's called by a mysterious force to stop a mad machine gone beserk, unaware that Syndrome, a longtime fan of Mr. Incredible turned cold by rejection, unleashes a threat as part of his revenge. It's up to Bob, Helen, and his family to defeat Syndrome and save the world from his threat.

As I said earlier, The Incredibles is my favorite Pixar film. Why is it my favorite? Well, it's incredible, incredible in any form of the word and is deserving of the title. The animation is incredible. Pixar is the best studio when it comes to CG animation, and The Incredibles is no different. While the human characters look no different than a cartoon creation, it's the best look on humans in any Pixar film, much improved than Pixar's debut with Toy Story. More impressive than the human expressions are the looks of the places shown in the film. The villainous island looks beautiful, the city looks like a strong recreation of New York, and the water looks like real water. I can honestly say that Pixar's strongest animation is this film.

Another incredible thing in the film is the characters. There's Mr. Incredible, or Bob, the super strong guy. I loved the character's desire to return to hero work and the change in character throughout the film. The wife, Helen, or Elastigirl, is tough and her superpower of stretching out is brilliant. One thing I might add is how funny their characters change throughout the film. In the beginning, Bob wants to settle down and Helen wants to stay super. But when they retire, it's the exact opposite. I find that funny. Now, on with the kids. There's Violet, the teen who wants to act like a normal kid, and it's hard considering she can turn invisible and create force fields. Actually, I'd think that'd be cool to have that ability, I don't know why. I loved her personality and raw emotions in several scenes. Then there's Dash, a young boy with the ability to run at fast speeds. Dash is a cool kid, something that I would love if I had his ability. One sequence that wows me every time is when he starts running on water. Yeah, that's cool. And then there's Jack-Jack, the baby. His powers are unknown, but a twist at the end shows otherwise and it's very funny, without giving any spoilers.

Frozone is a cool hero, brilliantly voiced by Samuel L. Jackson. He has the ability to freeze people. For someone like Samuel L. Jackson, that's pretty awesome. The villain, Syndrome, is pretty menacing, and his motives are pretty evil without being 100% stupid. Last character I have to mention is Edna Mode, the designer of the supersuits, voiced amazingly by director Brad Bird. She's very funny and steals every scene.

Another thing incredible about the film is the action sequences. No, this is not a G-rated film. But despite the PG-rating (a first for Pixar), the action is still pretty strong, though not super violent that would scar a kid for life. The finale is awesome, the Dash running on water in a brilliant chase scene is thrilling (and my favorite sequence in the movie), and the family in action is a cool thing. For once, we have a family film that's actually not dumbed down for young kids. Everyone can watch this and would still be wowed.

Last thing to mention is the incredible score by Michael Giacchino. It's his best score ever (yeah, better than both Star Trek scores combined). The jazzy theme song is awesome, the buildup to intense scenes is amazing, and I love that the score acts like you're watching a James Bond movie, particularly the Sean Connery ones. It's awesome.

It's always debatable over which Pixar movie is the best. Some say Toy Story. Some say WALL-E. Some say Monsters Inc. Some say Finding Nemo. And some say up. But as for me, my favorite Pixar film is The Incredibles, a film filled with stunning CG animation, great character personalities (and voice roles , so strong that you don't care who voices them), Michael Giacchino's best score, and aweswome action sequences. Definitely a film that any age can watch without some sensitive soul screaming "TOO INNAPROPRIATE!" This is family film at its best, right here.

One thing to add real quick: WHY HAVEN'T THEY MADE A SEQUEL TO THIS ALREADY?

"THAT WAS TOTALLY WICKED!".