The Incredibles 2

So I'm going to put a disclaimer on this review from the get go. I went into this movie after a long weekend of not getting a lot of sleep due to spending time with family and friends. I knew from the get go that it was very possible that I was going to fall asleep to this movie, no matter how good it was. And there were a couple of moments that I did fall asleep very briefly and even if I wasn't, I was just down right tired. I'm going to try and take a lot of those external factors out of my analysis of this movie because I was very, very excited for this movie.

The Incredible came out in 2006, just about the time that I was starting to get into more adult movies and I was trying to move away from the Disney animated films. However, that didn't really seem to matter because at every step of the way, Pixar has managed to create quality films that appeal to both adults and kids so going into The Incredibles never felt like I was watching a kids movie, it just felt like I was watching another movie. So while I don't think I hold The Incredible up in such a heartfelt nostalgia manner the way I know a lot of people do, I was still excited because this seemed to be a continuation of one of the films that solidified Pixar's already stellar record of creating just quality movies, not just kids movies.

The Incredibles 2 follows the story of the Parr family right where the previous movie left off. Bob Parr or Mr. Incredible (voiced by Craig T Nelson), his wife Helen or Elastigirl (voiced by Holly Hunter) and their two kids Dash and Violet (voiced by Huck Hilner (a change from the first film) and Sarah Vowell) are struggling with the fact that super heroes are still illegal. Bob wants to give his kids the chance to make the choice on whether or not they want to crime fight, but he also really just wants to get back to crime fighting, very similarly to the way he was in the first movie. After a botched hero intervention with the Underminer (voiced by John Ratzenberger), the Incredibles are approached by a brother sister duo who work at a tech company who are interested in promoting the image of superheroes to get them legalized again.

Winston and Evelyn Deavor (voiced by Bob Odenkirk and Catherine Keener) want to build up the image of supers but they believe that the best way to do that is to have Elastigirl spearhead the campaign. This leave Bob alone with the kids as Violet is having trouble with boys at school, Dash is

having difficulty with math, and the baby Jack-Jack is developing his first powers. Overall it makes for a great adventure that I actually was almost preferring the parts where Mr. Incredible is at home with the kids over the action. Maybe I was tired and not able to appreciate the action as much as I wanted to, but it was fun seeing the tables turned. The previous movie was Bob going off and adventuring on his own while Helen was home with the kids but this movie was the opposite. I would love to re-watch the first movie and watch the second movie right after it because it does feel like the continuation of the first film as it does happen right after. Maybe I'll do another review down the road where I do that and can give a better impression of how it fits as a larger story.

That's not to say that Helen's part of the movie wasn't good. They even expanded a little bit in a fun way.

At a certain point, Helen is introduced to a group of new superheroes that are inspired by what she does and they have a really fun set of powers. Later in the film they have representatives from other countries and their superheroes. I think they managed to do a really good job at expanding the lore of the universe while not feeling too gimick-y or in the trends of today. That was something that they recognized in the production of this movie and they instead wanted to center on the family and their growing journey.

And that's another really interesting thing about this movie, the production story. The first movie came out 14 years ago. I think people were a little nervous about that. So much that they even added a little disclaimer at the beginning with Craig T Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L Jackson, and Brad Bird about how much work goes into these movies and why it took so long. If you have time, go over to the production notes on the Wikipedia page and read a little bit into how long it took this movie to get green lit and some of the stories behind it because it is interesting.

I do feel like the movie was able to keep the same tone from the first movie and expand the story a bit, however I wonder if it's just the way sequels are that it never can really capture the magic of the first film. The villain of the movie never felt as sinister and personal as Synestro. The family dynamic at times felt like it was retreading on old territory that had already been covered in the first movie at times. There are a couple things in the movie that I could nit pick but I don't really want to. Maybe that's not being objective, but the truth is this movie was just fun.

The one big complaint I might have is that there wasn't enough Edna Mode (voiced by Brad Bird) in my opinion. In the parts she is in she almost steals the show, but I do think there wasn't enough of her in this film.

Whether it's just seeing these superheroes trying to live a normal life, Frozone (voiced by Samuel L Jackson) and the rest of them doing more action, or Jack-Jack developing his powers while tormenting a raccoon, this movie is just down right entertaining. Especially if you were a fan of the first one, go check it out, you will not be disappointed.

I probably have missed some criticisms and some praised of this movie due to being tired, so I want to hear your thoughts. What did you think of The Incredible 2? How did it match up to the first one? Comment and Discuss below! You can also send me your thoughts on Twitter @MovieSymposium as well as send me your requests for films I should review in the future. If you follow me on Twitter, you can get updates on future movie news and reviews coming out of this blog.

Thanks, I'll see you next time.