The Incredibles 2 (2018) Movie Review
The Incredibles 2 (2018) Movie Review
The Incredibles 2, while not perfect, is pretty much what you expect it to be. It’s funny, coherent, and heartwarming, and honestly, that’s really all that we (or at least I) needed from it. I would call it serviceable, but it’s a little bit better than that. It gets the job done well with a few extra touches that really make it stand out from other animated movies coming out this year (I’m looking at you, Hotel Transylvania 3). The first Incredibles movie a lot of people liked, and I guess I enjoyed it, but it never really stuck with me the way that Toy Story, Finding Nemo, or Up did. I don’t think this movie will go down in history either as one of the best Pixar films, but it continues the tradition of basically every Pixar movie being good (or at least tolerable).
After the events of the first film, superheroes are made illegal in the world of The Incredibles. However, this doesn’t stop the Parr family and Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson) from trying to fight crime. After one particularly messy incident, a wealthy businessman who wants to make superheroes legal again, Winston Deavor (Bob Odenkirk), contacts Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson), Elastigirl (Holly Hunter), and Frozone to be the three main superheroes in a publicity stunt to make the public aware of the good that “supers” can do. Winston chooses Elastigirl as the first one to go out and fight crime in clear public view, much to Bob’s (Mr. Incredible’s) dismay. Because Helen (Elastigirl) won’t be around to watch the kids, Bob is left to watch over the kids at home. Violet (Sarah Vowell) is having “adolescence,” Dash (Huck Milner) is having trouble with math class, and Jack-Jack (Eli Fucile) is busy discovering his vast array of new powers, which include combustion, teleportation, multiplying himself, turning into a monster, and shooting lasers out of his eyes. Meanwhile, Elastigirl ends up saving a runaway train, and because of that, there is a lot of new support for superhero causes. She soon encounters a new cyber-terrorist called Screenslaver (Catherine Keener), who hypnotizes people through screens. In the end, Elastigirl, Mr. Incredible, Frozone, Dash, Violet, and a horde of other superheroes team up to take down the villain, in an epic final battle scene on a boat. Superheroes end up getting made legal again.
This movie is not without its flaws, though. The villain is actually pretty weak as a character (not, like, literally). Their motive is that their parents died while waiting for superheroes to save them, and they feel grief and vengeance or whatever and want to take supers down. I guess that’s fine, but we’ve seen that a trillion times before. I feel like they could have come up with something a little better for Screenslaver’s motivation. Also, there were a lot of bright, flashing lights in this movie that I really could have done without. Every time the Screenslaver was hypnotizing or fighting someone, super bright blue/white lights were just flashing all over the place. Right after the movie I threw up, and I think part of it may have had to do with those dumb flashing lights. There’s actually a warning right before the movie started that talks about how people with epilepsy may have problems while viewing it, but I didn’t take it too seriously because it’s Pixar. But when all that Screenslaver stuff started, it got real with the headaches. It might not be like that for everyone, but personally, I’m not a huge fan of really bright flashing lights. Another problem I had with this movie, even if it was a smaller problem, was how the movie treated one particular small character. When Elastigirl thinks she catches Screenslaver for the first time, it turns out that the person who she thought she caught was actually an innocent pizza delivery guy who was being hypnotized by the real Screenslaver. The pizza guy is jailed, but we never really see what ever happens to him. I wish they would have given a more clear and fair ending for that guy, because he never did anything wrong.
But even with those complaints, there is still a lot going for The Incredibles 2. The animation and direction are both excellent, and you can tell that they took a lot of care with the details and little stuff in the movie. It’s an extremely fast-paced movie, which definitely works to its advantage. There are also some parts that really work like scenes that you wouldn’t expect from a kids’ movie, like the scene where Elastigirl tracks down Screenslaver in an apartment building. It’s legit suspenseful, and there aren’t always scenes like that in other movies for children or even other Pixar films. There are a lot of twists and turns in this movie, and you’re on the edge of your seat most of the time. It’s action-packed and thrilling, honestly. I’m pretty sure most people who are gonna go to it will like it. What I’m trying to say is if you were planning to see The Incredibles 2, you won’t be disappointed. The 14-year wait was worth it.
Safety Chart:
Violence: 4/10- Cartoon violence and explosions. Fistfights, punches, buildings get demolished, superpowers. Everything is OK for kids to see. Discussion of people getting shot.
Language: 3.5/10- More than you’d expect. Curses are said fairly casually (but only once each). People say “Oh my God.”
Drinking/Smoking: 4/10- Formal drinking by adults. Nothing very intense. Edna has a comically long cigarette in one scene.
The Incredibles 2 is a step above typical PG-rated animation fare, and it deserves to be seen by the type of people who usually see movies like The Boss Baby and Coco. But I think that people who saw the original should see this, for nostalgia’s sake and because it’s just flat-out a good movie. It’s another enjoyable addition to the Pixar legacy, and while it isn’t anything truly special, it most likely won’t be lost in the dust of other sequels they’ve made. It might not be above average for Pixar, but that’s not saying much because there really is no bad Pixar film (actually, Cars 2 is awesome, so everyone can shut up about that). I’m going to give it an A- as a grade. Incredibles 2 isn’t seriously amazing but it’s decent enough to give you a good amount to like and to think about afterwards. Kids will like it, and adults will too, *almost* like how everybody loved Toy Story all those years ago. I just hope Toy Story 4 is at least *clenches fists* this good.
