It’s fitting that Incredibles 2, the long-gestating sequel to writer-director Brad Bird’s 2004 Oscar-winning Best Animated Feature, opens with a thank-you from Bird and key cast members Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter and Samuel L. Jackson.
After all, it has been 14 years since viewers first watched the Parr family — dad Bob (Mr. Incredible), mom Helen (Elastigirl), daughter Violet, son Dash and baby Jack-Jack — leap into action to save the world from Buddy Pine, aka supervillain Syndrome.
Back then, when the original The Incredibles opened, the superhero genre had yet to truly ignite. It would be another year until Twentieth Century Fox’s live-action Fantastic Four debuted, but for my money, and many, many fans, The Incredibles was and is still the best creative imagining of what a Fantastic Four movie should be.
Mr. Incredible had super strength. Elastigirl’s body was capable of twisting, stretching and bending in ways that only animation could properly capture. And Violet’s ability to manifest protective shields and impenetrable bubbles, coupled with Dash’s super speed, made even the youngest heroes inspiring.
A lot has changed since then. Marvel Studios has produced 19 films, transforming the way iconic comics stories are told. The rival DC Extended Universe has tried with lesser results to build upon the mythology of fan-favorite characters like Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. And R-rated superheroes like Deadpool are generating hundreds of millions of dollars in ticket sales.
So, it makes sense that Bird & Co. would want to thank viewers and fans for not forgetting them in the ensuing decade and a half.
The good news is that Incredibles 2, despite its long lag time, was worth the wait, if only to spend another two hours with one of the best and most fully realized families, animated or live-action, to ever grace the big screen.
The bad news is that while The Incredibles was a bases-loaded, bottom-of-the-ninth World Series-winning grand slam, Incredibles 2 is, at best, a solo home run in a game that was never in danger of being lost. It’s really good, and often hilarious, but the WOW factor has definitely diminished now that super-human characters have become a mainstay at every multiplex across the country.
Thankfully, Bird has come up with a solid story, even though it sputters a bit when stretched to two hours. Being a superhero is now illegal, and subject to prosecution if caught, which has put the Parr family in an uncomfortable position. Do they do what they do best, and save people whenever possible, or simply fade from view into domestic normalcy?
The opening sequence is a great one. Just minutes after being asked out on her first date, Violet, her brother and her parents must contend with the Underminer (voiced by John “Cliff from Cheers” Ratzenberger), who uses a giant drill-ship to burrow deep under the city in order to rob a bank. Pixar knows no equal when it comes to creating huge scenes that crackle with energy without sacrificing the small details. Even the Parr’s best buddy, Lucius Best, aka Frozone (Jackson), shows up to assist in stopping the Underminer’s vessel from destroying City Hall.
The celebration is short-lived as the Parr clan are all arrested.
Enter Winston Deavor (Bob Odenkirk) and his sister Evelyn (Catherine Keener). After inheriting their father’s fortune and his mega-corporation, the Deavors want to use Elastigirl (Hunter) to sway public opinion and force world leaders to reverse course and allow superheroes to once again be super without fear of persecution.
That means Mr. Incredible (Nelson) must stay home with the kids and watch over Jack-Jack (Eli Fucile), who is grown enough now to be manifesting powers of his own — a lot of them — even though his parents don’t yet know that.
Nelson’s voice remains a perfect fit for Bob Parr, the once-legendary hero now trying to understand Dash’s math homework and failing at figuring out how best to make Jack-Jack sleep through the night.
Though animated, Bob and Helen are instantly relatable to anyone who is married and/or has kids. Their dynamic, along with their empathy and patience as parents, helps keep adults invested.
Before long, a new supervillain emerges, the Screenslaver, who can hypnotize anyone and turn them into a dutiful zombie that simply obeys commands. The mystery of Screenslaver’s identity isn’t a deep one, which is one of the issues that keeps Incredibles 2 from truly taking flight.
There are probably two too many action sequences that highlight Elastigirl’s abilities and, sadly, Frozone’s epic ice blasts and frosty ski slopes are starting to exhibit the downside of global warming.
The heart of Incredibles 2, however, belongs to Jack-Jack, whose powers represent a super-piñata of possibilities. He can multiply himself, shoot lasers from his eyes, spontaneously burst into flames, phase through other dimensions and transform into a hysterical kid-version of the Tasmanian Devil, just to name a few.
Of the three best sequences in the film, two involve Jack-Jack. The first is a fantastic outdoor struggle with a raccoon in which almost all of his newfound powers come into play while Bob watches in horror and admiration from inside their house. Not long after, Bob seeks help from Edna Mode (once again voiced by Bird), the brilliant designer of the Incredibles’ super-suits, to assist in both baby-sitting Jack-Jack and getting him fitted with a proper costume. Edna Mode is such a wonderfully droll creation, a pint-sized mash-up of fashion icon Anna Wintour and Q from the James Bond franchise.
But the moment that truly reminds you of Pixar’s greatness, and why no other animation company has yet to match them, is the first fight between Elastigirl and Screenslaver. Watching this sequence on an IMAX screen is just jaw-dropping, from the swirling kaleidoscope of colors to the bursts of disorienting strobe.
It’s a transportive moment, one that reminds you of the exuberant joy you felt way back in 2004.
Incredibles 2 is a solid, enjoyable sequel. It’s on par with Avengers: Age of Ultron, by example, in that it doesn’t eclipse the original, but it also doesn’t feel like a blatant cash-grab a la Ghostbusters II.
And if it takes another 14 years for fans to get a threequel, at least by then Jack-Jack will be old enough to headline his own adventure and carry the Parr legacy to even greater heights.
John W. Allman has spent more than 25 years as a professional journalist and writer, but he’s loved movies his entire life. Good movies, awful movies, movies that are so gloriously bad you can’t help but champion them. Since 2009, he has cultivated a review column and now a website dedicated to the genre films that often get overlooked and interviews with cult cinema favorites like George A. Romero, Bruce Campbell and Dee Wallace. Contact him at bloodviolenceandbabes.com, on Facebook or on Twitter.
This article appears in Jun 14-21, 2018.