Review: Incredibles 2

“A long awaited sequel that doesn’t jump the shark and sits well with its predecessor… but…”

The Incredibles are back, FINALLY!!! In a world where sequels come out left and right, even for movies that weren’t very liked, The Incredibles has finally added to the great original from 2004.

Jack-Jack is always so excited when action happens

The film opens as the previous one ended, with the Underminer attacking the city. The opening is high in action and does reveal to you how much improvement in the annimation there has been since 2004. The image is very crisp and at times has an almost 3D quality to it.

In this new story, we see brother and sister Winston and Evelyn Deavor, a pair of very rich super fans, try to engage Mr Incredible, Elastigirl and Frozone, to work with them in making superheros legal again. However, they choose Elastigirl to be the first to engage with the public and fight crime. This means that Mr Incredible has to remain Bob, and stay at home with the kids, much to his displeasure. Quickly, a new villain emerges in the form of the Screenslaver, who can control people with hypnosis.

The film sets up parallel stories, as Elastigirl gets back into the superhero game and Mr Incredible stays at home dealing with Violet and her teenage issues, Dash and his math problems, and Jack-Jack and his discovery of his powers.

All of the at home with the kids stuff works, especially Jack-Jack. Anything involving the baby is entertaining and enjoyable. Personally, this part of the story could have been more of the main focus for the plot, as it’s easily the best thing about the film. Violet and Dash don’t have much in their story arcs (especially Dash), but the family unit works well for the most part.

The main problem for me was that Elastigirl’s story wasn’t really that interesting. She’s basically great at it from minute one, doesn't really have much conflict in terms of leaving her family, and is instantly accepted by the public. Also, you see where the plot is going a mile off, and it kinda doesn’t really capture your interest.

I felt the film needed to give her more conflict about leaving the family behind, or give her more difficulties to overcome in getting back into the game. Perhaps that would have been a retreat of Mr Incredibles journey in the first one, but something needed to be added to her story line to make it worth being dragged away from the plot involving Jack-Jack.

Getting this baby to sleep is not an easy task.

I also found that whilst the action was very well animated, it was turned up to 11 the whole time and for me it took away from the plot a bit with so many big action set pieces. The film didn’t quite have the light moments in the same way as the first (such as Mr Incredibles training/work montage) to keep the movie flowing. With the villain not really being interesting, it also made the film drag a little bit in parts.

But, all that said, the film bounces along beautifully in so many ways that it’s easy to overlook any flaws in a few aspects. I don’t think it’s up there with the original, but as a sequel, it’s a very good addition to the universe, which hopefully will continue to grow, but not take 14 years to do so. Also, can we get more Edna please?

Edna is back too and my favourite scene in the movie.

The five bearded questions:

1. Was it worth a cinema trip? Yes.

2. Would I See It Again at the Cinema? Yes.

3. Would I buy it on Blu-ray: (only films I really love get bought these days) Maybe 4. Do I Recommend people see it? Absolutely.

5. Any cheese/ Disney style bullshit?: (such as jokes wedged in at serious moments, because fun!). It actually wasn’t as funny as expected.