Incredibles Assemble!

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By Tom Pacak

Fourteen years ago, I went to see Pixar’s “The Incredibles” with my family. Being eight years old at the time, I thought the movie was literally incredible. Even as an adult, I still find the movie to be amazing. I remember it being the movie to see, everybody my age was wearing Incredibles t-shirts and wearing Incredibles Halloween costumes. It’s truly one of the Pixar’s best movies put on screen. Finally, after fourteen years, Brad Bird and Pixar return to give long-awaited fans a 2018-updated sequel. I'm here to report that “The Incredibles 2” gives fans enough balls to the wall action, heart, and humor that made the original a classic. It was worth the wait!

Bird picks up where the original left off, the Incredibles are last seen fighting The Underminer, a mole-like villain who wants to rob banks by drilling them underground. After failing to defeat the minor villain, the public and government require that superheroes stay illegal. Like in all Marvel films, supers as they call them here, have been seen as too big of a liability to control. They wreak havoc in the streets without consequences and fail to find the criminals. In an original twist, the politicians and police would rather have the criminals get away with the crimes than have them be stopped. Shows how money is more important than actual justice.

There’s one person who doesn’t believe in that philosophy and that’s Winston Deaver (Bob Odenkirk), a die-hard fan of superheroes who wants to bring them back in society’s realm. Odenkirk is perfectly cast as this Tony Stark wannabe tycoon who has hope in his childhood heroes. He’s one of the film's highlights! With the help of his tech sister Evelyn (Catherine Keener), Winston is going to give these heroes the job they need. Their plan is to attach a hidden camera in the superhero’s suit and plan fake crimes so the superhero can save the day and become great again! The Deavers chose Elastigirl aka Mrs. Incredibles (Holly Hunter) for the job.

While Elastigirl is out saving the world and getting covered by the press, Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) is at home doing another ob that requires a superhero, being a parent. Violet (Sarah Vowell) is going through girl drama that's caused by a crush not remembering her and Dash (Huck Milner) is struggling with being the same troublemaker that he is. The real struggle for Mr. Incredible is Jack-Jack, the infant son of the Incredible family who reveals to have some superpowers of his own. One hilarious scene is when a raccoon digging around realizes it’s no match against Jack-Jack. Bird manages to keep all of the Jack-Jack scenes funny and fresh. 

It’s a blast watching these superheroes find out who they are in their social life and superhero life. The voice cast is to die for as well! Craig T. Nelson catches Mr. Incredible’s love for his family and his desire to be a star superhero again perfectly. The show really belongs to Holly Hunter, who can convey a lot by saying so little. She's the main superhero here who is not only trying to make superhero’s great but also defeat another mysterious villain Screenslaver. At first, the Deavers use this fake villain to help boost their chance at putting superheroes back in a positive spotlight but somebody inside the organization is using this villain to control society for a more sinister plot. Screenslaver controls the world through hypnosis; Bird uses this technique to show how our current society is one addicted to our screens. And warning, to those who have Epilepsy or get frequent migraines, you might want to close your eyes. I know I had to!

“The Incredibles 2” is about as much fun you would expect to have at the movies this summer. It’s obviously not as great as the first Incredibles film but it’s better than most action movies out now. There's enough humor about growing up and humor about parenting to keep the whole family entertained. Plus, watch out for a killer ending that shows Bird’s talent for finding creative ways to do action sequences. “Incredibles 2” is absolutely incredible!

Rating: 4 stars out of 4


Note: Now Playing in Theaters

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