It's been FAR too long since we've gotten a sequel to the original, and excellent "Incredibles" that was released in 2004. ("14 years too late," to quote Syndrome.) But alas, "Incredibles 2" is finally upon us and there's certainly a lot to talk about! Long story short, I really liked the new adventure, but I didn't find it measuring up to the first installment. As far as spoilers go, I will only go into what the trailer reveals.
"Incredibles 2" is a fully-animated feature that brings back all of our favorite heroes including Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl, Frozone, as well as the children, Dash, Violet and Jack Jack. While the voice actors for the three main heroes are the same, the voice actors for Dash and Jack-Jack were replaced.
Not only do we get the original crew back, but new heroes such as Voyd (Sophia Bush) are introduced, as well as Winston Deavor (Bob Odenkirk) and Evelyn Deavor (Catherine Keener).
The film also features a new villain in Screenslaver, a technology villain that hijacks TV screens and hypnotizes viewers. I found Screenslaver to be nowhere near as cool in motivation or charisma as Syndrome, but is still more than serviceable as an Incredibles baddie.
Winston Deavor is an excellent new character to the franchiseYouTube | Disney Pixar
In terms of good things about this film, I was really proud of how everything was executed. From the very beginning exposition, you're thrown into the action and captivated by what's being told. There's no boring backstory or character arc that we have to sit through like in comparable superhero films. Also, the good 'ol Disney jokes always seem to land even at the age of 20.
One great aspect of this film that is very overlooked is that you never really feel like you're watching fiction. After you take a step back and realize it's about superheroes you obviously conclude that it could never happen, but while you're being captivated by the various scenarios, plot twists, and jokes, you feel like you're observing real events.
Even in Marvel movies, I struggle to really feel immersed in the world, but during both "Incredibles" and "Incredibles 2," I felt totally transported.
I also have to mention that while most of the score is borrowed from original themes, the music itself is amazing. I live for tunes such as "The Incredibles Theme."
As a side note, as if it needs any introduction so to speak, the animation quality is top-notch as it always is. It's really quite unfortunate that we've come to expect this quality from Disney films to where it's really not mentioned in most reviews. It takes tons of time and effort to produce an animated film such as this one, and Disney is always right at the top in terms of animation quality.
If I were to specifically pick one aspect about the film that I didn't really care for, it's that the narrative is relatively predictable. There are a few quick twists thrown at you over the course of the rising action, but from the opening thirty minutes I could pretty much tell where the film was going. This was a little disappointing because one of my favorite parts of the original film was Syndrome explaining his plan as well as his moral compass around being evil.
I can still hear the "And if everyone's super… no one is…" ringing through my head from the first time I saw "Incredibles" in 1st grade.
IS IT WORTH IT?
Bottom line, "Incredibles 2" is a great sequel to the original and was well worth the wait. While it doesn't quite reach the lofty height of the original, "Incredibles 2" is an awesome animated feature that will entertain young and old alike.
