Incredibles 2

It's not that I didn't enjoy this return to the world of 'SUPERS' but after 14 years what is new or different from the original? It's just as smart and just as colorful and just as much fun but somehow it didn't feel fresh to me. I feel like I had been down this road before and there was nothing new here to learn. Maybe that is too much to expect from an animated movie but the Incredibles was the BEST Fantastic Four movie ever made when it first appeared 14 years ago. It's iconic to me and sets the perfect mood for an adventure in a world where people have superpowers.

 

All the characters are the same and they all learn the lessons they were meant to learn and in the end, of course, the Incredibles will save the day in dramatic fashion. Just like it was meant to be. Violet has the most interesting story arc and she is my favorite of the Incredibles. The whole Incredibles Saga is really her journey from shy teen to confidant and dependable young adult.

 

And then we move on to a tale of female empowerment and how incapble men are at looking after their own kids, even superpowered ones. There are a few laughs there but nothing you have ever seen before in the trailers That part of the film is a bit tiresome but then Edna Mode shows up and she is always golden. The ONE Funko figure that has immediately gone to the top of my 'must have'  list is now Edna Mode. How I don't already have one is a serious oversight in my Collection of Cool.

 

 

 

The Elastagirl action scenes are fantastic, however. Her powers are excellent for animation and they came up with really creative ways to show them off. She is definately the deadliest one of the bunch. She can get to you before you even think about how to fight her.

Frozone is also more powerful than I ever thought he was and is a professional also at using his powers to full effect and the movie allows him to show that in many creative ways. Sam Jackson is the perfect voice for him. I like the way he loves the family and they love and trust him in return.

 

 

 

 

Did I mention Edna? Edna who hates germy babies who do nothing but poop? She is even better than last movie because she has finally found her superhero MUSE in Jack Jack. It's laugh out loud funny to watch the ways she takes to this baby and him to her. He inspires the artist in her and her scenes redeem most everything I said about this movie up to this point.

 

 

I left this movie for a couple of hours and didn't even miss it. That how similar it feels to the first one. Is that an accomplishment or a detriment? I can't really tell. I felt a bit bored at the beginning but was charged by the end. It's just a 90 minute addition to the first film to make one larger superhero story and if you watch it like that, it's a great matinee with the kids. Just show them the first one right before you take them to the theatre. The ending really was terrific with the three younger Parr children taking on the role of superheroes when their parents are mind controlled by the villain of the piece.



Personally I would have loved to see an Incredibles cartoon series instead of this sequel but it worked its charm on me much in the same way the first one did. Jack Jack was used brilliantly in so many creative ways. I can see him becoming huge in pop culture. A series from Jack Jack's perspective would be interesting to watch. Okay, not a series but maybe a one time special for television.

The other supers that end up fighting the Parr family are sub-par threats who are made with very litte imagination with terrible costume designs and are totally unexplored for even a second as charcters. Again, something that could have been fleshed out in an Incredibles cartoon series. If that had happened then this film could have had some real emotional resonance instead of just another busy rehash of the animators greatest hits.

I can appreciate the kind of dedication to a vision that Brad Bird has created here. Did we need it? No. But now that we have it I am glad. But that doesn't mean that I NEED to see an Iron Giant 2 since Bird did that film too? I don't, if you have nothing new to show me there.