“It will be worth the wait.” That’s what we were promised by actors Craig T. Nelson (Mr. Incredible), Holly Hunter (Elastigirl), and writer/director/actor Brad Bird (Edna Mode) in a message that played before the movie. I was 14 when the first one came out, which means I’ve been waiting exactly half of my life for this sequel. “Worth the wait” would have been the least acceptable outcome for me. And I’m happy to report that the wait was worth it and then some.
Incredibles 2 felt a lot like the original, which was both a good and bad quality. Being reminded of the first one brought back great feelings of nostalgia. And of course it’s also a great movie, so giving off similar vibes would seem like a good thing. And it is, to a point. The basic formula of the movie, and how it progressed, felt too close to the first. I have no problem with that in general, and it still worked quite well; I just would have liked to see something a little bit different.
The humor was hit-or-miss. The physical comedy was awesome. Those gags landed every time. The actual scripted jokes, however, were very so-so. Some were good, some completely fell flat. They weren’t necessarily bad, though. They were just one of the weaker aspects of the movie.
The plot and some of the twists were predictable, but I can’t knock that too much for this kind of movie. When young kids are the target audience, or least a good chunk of the target audience, you can’t expect too complicated of a plot. And even though you can see certain reveals coming, they were still done in a fun way. They worked well enough where you should be okay with them.
Okay, let’s move on to some strictly positive thoughts. Jack-Jack is the star of this movie. If you read any other reviews, you’ll likely read the same. He’s hysterical, adorable, powerful, he’s got it all. One of the highlight scenes of the movie is Jack-Jack’s battle with a pesky raccoon. If Pixar makes a third Incredibles, I hope they’ll let some time pass, a few years at least, in movie time. I want an older Jack-Jack who’s had time to hone his powers some more.
The voice cast is excellent. There’s no weak link in the bunch. Bob Odenkirk and Catherine Keener were additions to the cast as siblings Winston and Evelyn Deavor, who champion the effort to legalize superheroes again. They turn in predictably great performances. Brad Bird returns to voice Edna Mode, whose character was used perfectly. She’s great, but would get tiresome if over-used. Her role was similar to the first movie and it played perfectly yet again. Sophia Bush joined the cast as new super Voyd. I would have liked to see more of her character, but that’s probably mostly because I’m a big Sophia Bush fan. Okay, I’m a (big) One Tree Hill fan and that’s all that I’ve seen her in. But still. The fact remains, she’s great and I’ll never complain about more Sophia Bush.
The score and overall visuals of the movie are amazing. Being a Pixar movie, you expect the movie to look good, and it lives up the reputation Pixar has built up so strongly over the years. Michael Giacchino returned to score the movie and knocked it out of the park. It was perfect. From a technical standpoint, Pixar Pixar’d, as you would expect.
While there are some obvious problems with Incredibles 2, they’re nothing that weigh the movie down all that much. And there is so much that’s good about it that it’s easy to overlook any flaws. About the only way you could be disappointed with this movie is if you go in hoping for a sequel on a Toy Story 2 or 3 level. Incredibles 2 is loads of fun and will hold up to anyone with reasonable expectations for it.
Movie: The Incredibles 2
Starring: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Huck Milner, Samuel L. Jackson, Bob Odenkirk, Catherine Keener
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Superhero, Animation
Rated: PG for action sequences
Rating: 88/100
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