Honey, where's my super suit?
Incredibles 2 (PG)
Starring (Voices): Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Huck Milner, Samuel L.Jackson
Director: Brad Bird
The Plot: Following a failed attempt at defeating the Underminer, things aren't going well for the Parr family: they're broke, living in a motel and superheroes are still outlawed. Things look up when they're contacted by Winston and Evelyn Deavor, owners of the communications firm DevTech, who have a plan to restore Supers by putting their good deeds in the public eye - and they want Elastigirl to be the one to do it. Taking the job, Helen begins crime-fighting again while Bob unsuccessfully tries to adjust to being a stay-at-home Dad, dealing with Violet's dating issues, Dash's complicated math homework and Jack-Jack's many manifesting super powers. When a new villain called the Screenslaver arrives, who uses powerful hypnosis and intends to wipe out Supers for good, the whole family will need to come together once more to stop them . . .
Check out the trailer for the film here.
Review: Can you believe it's been almost fourteen years since the original The Incredibles? Released way back in November 2004, the film still ranks as one of Pixar's best, and as well as the critical and commercial success it was also an important technological milestone for Pixar themselves - it was their first film featuring humans as the main characters (as opposed to minor or supporting characters in Toy Story and Monsters Inc) and they had to work really hard to get things like hair, muscles and movement right. And get it right they did, as the film's visuals - particularly it's retrofuturistic theme - still hold up well today. But it's the story and the characters that have remained beloved by Pixar fans, and nonesomore than its director Brad Bird, who has long spoken of wanting to do a sequel, but only if he could come up with a script he felt was as good as the first. Well, fourteen years is a long time to wait (Finding Dory, with a thirteen year gap between it and Finding Nemo doesn't count in my opinion, as it's not really a sequel), but finally the Parrs are back and I'm happy to tell you that Bird and the talented people at Pixar have produced another winner - Incredibles 2 is fantastic.
The first really smart decision by Bird is the setting: rather than have it be, for example, ten years later with the kids grown up, the story instead picks right up where the first film left off. If you remember The Incredibles, it ended with the family attending Dash's sports day, Violet awkwardly asking her crush Tony on a date, and the villain the Underminer making a grand entrance, prompting the family to suit up ready to battle him. Brilliantly, Incredibles 2 opens on that very scene, giving a seamless transition from the first film to this one and a terrific action set-piece to kick things off as the family attempt to bring down the Underminer while constantly handing Jack-Jack off to one another to look after as they each try to use their powers to help. It's a great sequence that not only provides an exciting and funny opening to the story, but acts as a small refresher of who each character is and what they can do for those who have forgotten. More importantly, it's a very clear statement that the much-loved tone of the first film is present and correct.
In another smart move the original voice cast is back, with two exceptions that couldn't be helped: Dash is now voiced by Huck Milner, as his original voice actor Spencer Fox has "aged out" since the first film and has too deep a voice these days, while Rick Dicker (great name), the Parr's handler who helps relocate them, is now voiced by the great Jonathan Banks as his original voice artist Bud Luckey (a Pixar animator who's credited with the creation of Woody from Toy Story) had retired and then, sadly, passed away earlier this year - the film is dedicated to him. The rest of the cast are all present and correct and do another great job, and they're joined by the excellent Bob Odenkirk and Catherine Keener as Winston and Evelyn Deavor. Listen out for the legendary Isabella Rossellini in a small role as an Ambassador who's key to Winston's plan to get Supers made legal again, and don't worry dahling - the brilliant Edna Mode returns and is once again voiced by director Brad Bird.
The main story of the film is split into two threads: the first - and leading - one follows Helen (as Elastigirl, complete with a sparkly new uniform that she doesn't like) who goes off to work for DevTech, while the other follows Bob who faces being a stay-at-home Dad for the first time in his life and having to deal with looking after the kids 24/7. This split works in a number of different ways. Most of the action sequences surround Helen as she at first tries to battle the Screenslaver alone - there's a really good set-piece where she has to stop a runaway train - and this allows us to see more of her kicking ass and being Elastigirl the superhero rather than Elastigirl the mom, but it also shows the effects of her being away from her family. On the flipside of this, most of the film's humour (and there's a lot of it) comes from the thread following Bob and this acts as a natural compliment to the action. Bob's woefully unprepared for having to deal with the kids all the time, and there's a lot going on with them: Jack-Jack's many superpowers are manifesting, to Bob's initial delight (there's a hilarious scene where Jack-Jack battles a raccoon he spots raiding the family's trash can), but these coupled with the regular problems of looking after a baby soon see him having zero sleep. Dash is struggling with math homework that Bob can't understand ("When did they change math? Math is math!"), while Violet is having a meltdown due to her crush Tony having his memories wiped after seeing her without her mask during the battle with the Underminer, forgetting not only their date but who she is entirely. Bob's attempt to fix the situation doesn't help, taking them for a meal at the restaurant Tony works at, in a very funny scene that prompts Violet to shoot water out of her nose.
The main reason that the film works so well is that it balances all the aspects of the story, just as the original The Incredibles did. There's plenty of action and excitement with the family all using their powers, there's loads of humour as I just mentioned (Bob's visit to Edna Mode is a particular high point, especially when Jack-Jack imitates her), but we also get some tender moments such as Helen on the phone to Bob missing her family, or Bob staying up all night learning Dash's math homework so he can help him, or again with Bob and his apology to Violet for messing things up with her and Tony, admitting that he while he was a superhero the right choices were always obvious to him, but as a parent he doesn't know how to do things right. The third act, where the action ramps up, also devotes a good chunk of its time to the kids themselves, allowing them to take centre stage as they head off to rescue their parents and Frozone who have fallen under the control of the Screenslaver, and this was really nice to see. From a technical standpoint the film is, as you would expect from Pixar these days, absolutely terrific. The visuals are stunning, giving a new life to the characters (Pixar have come a long way since 2004) whilst still retaining the same look and feel of the first film, while the score is once again composed by Michael Giacchino and just as excellent.
The only real negative that I could find is with the film's villain Screenslaver. The revelation that the villain is actually (spoiler alert) Evelyn Deavor doesn't come as a surprise, and while she's given a genuine reason for hating superheroes, she just doesn't come across as well as original villain Syndrome from The Incredibles. This doesn't detract from the overall experience, as everything else about the film more than stands up to the original, but it's just a shame that the villain of the piece doesn't. Don't let that put you off though - Incredibles 2 is a brilliant film that's action-packed, incredibly funny and heartwarming to boot. The wait of fourteen years was absolutely worth it.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Another winning film from Pixar and worthy sequel to the original The Incredibles. An exciting story that's both full of action and incredibly funny, while maintaining the much-loved look and feel of the first film and sending a strong message about the importance of family. A weak villain aside, this is a brilliant film and well worth your time. Now, where's my super suit?
The first really smart decision by Bird is the setting: rather than have it be, for example, ten years later with the kids grown up, the story instead picks right up where the first film left off. If you remember The Incredibles, it ended with the family attending Dash's sports day, Violet awkwardly asking her crush Tony on a date, and the villain the Underminer making a grand entrance, prompting the family to suit up ready to battle him. Brilliantly, Incredibles 2 opens on that very scene, giving a seamless transition from the first film to this one and a terrific action set-piece to kick things off as the family attempt to bring down the Underminer while constantly handing Jack-Jack off to one another to look after as they each try to use their powers to help. It's a great sequence that not only provides an exciting and funny opening to the story, but acts as a small refresher of who each character is and what they can do for those who have forgotten. More importantly, it's a very clear statement that the much-loved tone of the first film is present and correct.
In another smart move the original voice cast is back, with two exceptions that couldn't be helped: Dash is now voiced by Huck Milner, as his original voice actor Spencer Fox has "aged out" since the first film and has too deep a voice these days, while Rick Dicker (great name), the Parr's handler who helps relocate them, is now voiced by the great Jonathan Banks as his original voice artist Bud Luckey (a Pixar animator who's credited with the creation of Woody from Toy Story) had retired and then, sadly, passed away earlier this year - the film is dedicated to him. The rest of the cast are all present and correct and do another great job, and they're joined by the excellent Bob Odenkirk and Catherine Keener as Winston and Evelyn Deavor. Listen out for the legendary Isabella Rossellini in a small role as an Ambassador who's key to Winston's plan to get Supers made legal again, and don't worry dahling - the brilliant Edna Mode returns and is once again voiced by director Brad Bird.
The main story of the film is split into two threads: the first - and leading - one follows Helen (as Elastigirl, complete with a sparkly new uniform that she doesn't like) who goes off to work for DevTech, while the other follows Bob who faces being a stay-at-home Dad for the first time in his life and having to deal with looking after the kids 24/7. This split works in a number of different ways. Most of the action sequences surround Helen as she at first tries to battle the Screenslaver alone - there's a really good set-piece where she has to stop a runaway train - and this allows us to see more of her kicking ass and being Elastigirl the superhero rather than Elastigirl the mom, but it also shows the effects of her being away from her family. On the flipside of this, most of the film's humour (and there's a lot of it) comes from the thread following Bob and this acts as a natural compliment to the action. Bob's woefully unprepared for having to deal with the kids all the time, and there's a lot going on with them: Jack-Jack's many superpowers are manifesting, to Bob's initial delight (there's a hilarious scene where Jack-Jack battles a raccoon he spots raiding the family's trash can), but these coupled with the regular problems of looking after a baby soon see him having zero sleep. Dash is struggling with math homework that Bob can't understand ("When did they change math? Math is math!"), while Violet is having a meltdown due to her crush Tony having his memories wiped after seeing her without her mask during the battle with the Underminer, forgetting not only their date but who she is entirely. Bob's attempt to fix the situation doesn't help, taking them for a meal at the restaurant Tony works at, in a very funny scene that prompts Violet to shoot water out of her nose.
The main reason that the film works so well is that it balances all the aspects of the story, just as the original The Incredibles did. There's plenty of action and excitement with the family all using their powers, there's loads of humour as I just mentioned (Bob's visit to Edna Mode is a particular high point, especially when Jack-Jack imitates her), but we also get some tender moments such as Helen on the phone to Bob missing her family, or Bob staying up all night learning Dash's math homework so he can help him, or again with Bob and his apology to Violet for messing things up with her and Tony, admitting that he while he was a superhero the right choices were always obvious to him, but as a parent he doesn't know how to do things right. The third act, where the action ramps up, also devotes a good chunk of its time to the kids themselves, allowing them to take centre stage as they head off to rescue their parents and Frozone who have fallen under the control of the Screenslaver, and this was really nice to see. From a technical standpoint the film is, as you would expect from Pixar these days, absolutely terrific. The visuals are stunning, giving a new life to the characters (Pixar have come a long way since 2004) whilst still retaining the same look and feel of the first film, while the score is once again composed by Michael Giacchino and just as excellent.
The only real negative that I could find is with the film's villain Screenslaver. The revelation that the villain is actually (spoiler alert) Evelyn Deavor doesn't come as a surprise, and while she's given a genuine reason for hating superheroes, she just doesn't come across as well as original villain Syndrome from The Incredibles. This doesn't detract from the overall experience, as everything else about the film more than stands up to the original, but it's just a shame that the villain of the piece doesn't. Don't let that put you off though - Incredibles 2 is a brilliant film that's action-packed, incredibly funny and heartwarming to boot. The wait of fourteen years was absolutely worth it.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Another winning film from Pixar and worthy sequel to the original The Incredibles. An exciting story that's both full of action and incredibly funny, while maintaining the much-loved look and feel of the first film and sending a strong message about the importance of family. A weak villain aside, this is a brilliant film and well worth your time. Now, where's my super suit?
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