So, I got to see The Incredibles 2 a few weeks back as a double feature at my theater and I got to say that it was "Totally Wicked!" This was a sequel worth waiting for. Now then, lets get into the reasons why I loved this film.
Story: After the Incredibles family fight against the Underminor from the end of the first movie and lose, they are flung under the bus by the city and must remain in hiding, but they have lost their sponsor in Rick Dicker (now played by Jonathan Banks, rest in peace Bud Lucky) and must now find work. Thanks to an observer who happens to love superheroes, he enlisted the help of Frozone, Mr. Incredible and Elasticgirl to bring the return of super heroes. He starts with Elasticgirl since she has caused the least amount of damage to warm people up to the idea of Supers once again. Now, while she is out to help save the world, Bob (Mr. Incredible) must take care of the kids and learn to become a much better father in the process. Now, I know what you are thinking, yes, this is a pretty similar setup to the first movie in some shape and form, but it does a bit to differ itself from being an exact copy of the first film. I like that in this one, they explore the role of the stay-at-home parent as much as the super hero side so that we have both perspectives to consider. Bob has to deal with his hyperactive son Dash who needs help with school work, his daughter Violet who is experiencing a setback due to an incident with her boyfriend, and discovering that his infant son Jack-Jack has super powers. While this is going on, we get to see a side of Hellen (Elasticgirl) that is more open to being this big representative for heroes. She is cautious at first, but goes along with it and is enjoying every step of the way till she becomes mentally blocked by the ScreenSlaver and is trying every way she can to put a stop to him. One thing that I have noticed this film take a dip away from is the overall dark tone. I mean, yea, sure, their is still some adult tones when it comes to certain characters and the use of mild language here and their (more so then the original) but I feel it has lost that sense of adult writing with a character crush about losing someone and wanting to keep them from being hurt again, not to mention Mr. Incredible losing his shit and was about to hurt Syndrome only to threaten him with killing his secretary Mirage (in the first film) It was stuff like that that made characters like Mr. Incredible so flawed but very enjoyable when they came to overcome such hardships, and their is some of that in this film, but not to the degree of the original. This films writing may not have that edgy punch of the original, but their is still some solid writing along with some funny comedy to go along for the ride.
Characters: You may remember them from the first movie, but lest run through them again, shall we? Bob/Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson, Poltergeist 1982) is the headstrong hero/father of this movie, where he must learn to live with his wife having the glory before he gets his chance and must stay at home caring for his kids and help bond with them. Helen/Elasticgirl (Holly Hunter, Roe Vs. Wade) is the careful and protective mother of the family who has been sent out to do hero work to help bring supers back into the light. Violet (Sarah Vowell, The American Life) is the teenage daughter of the family who has to try and deal with a situation that happened to her boyfriend while also dropping her want to be a hero. Dash (Huck Milner) is the energetic young brother who is trying to get used to his math homework but needs help from his father. Jack-Jack (Eli Fucile, Nicholas Bird for Monstrous Jack-Jack) is the baby who is learning how to use his super powers. The new characters consist of Winston Deavor (Bob Odenkirk, Saturday Night Live) who is the over enthusiast telecommunications owner wanting to bring the supers back, his sister Evelyn (Catherine Keener, Being John Malkovich) the sort of out of it smart inventor who helps out with Elasticgirl in her endeavors to stop the ScreenSlavor, whom I wont spoil who it is just so you can have the surprise for yourself. As far as the new characters go, they serve their part filling the world with more personality along with the other supers that are introduced to the film, but the film makes it apparent that you pay attention to the family who are the stars of the show. They each go through their struggles to overcome their problems and better themselves as characters, it just doesn't have the same strength of peril as the original film did. Their is still some exciting perilous stuff, don't get me wrong, its just not as character heavy as the original. Like how their isn't as much talk about identity as in the original. Their definably is a lot of funny exchanges between characters and that is one of this films strong suits. The actors really give it their all like they have been doing this their whole lives and I can feel the passion in them. The film may not have the strong punch as the original, you have to admit, it still great to see these characters again going trough different situations to make themselves more believable characters.
Animation: If their is one thing that definitely improved upon the original film is the animation period. The original film, while impressive during its time, is sort of looking dated in terms of the animation. In here, however, everything is tweaked up a bit to have a very appealing look and shine to them. I dare even say, they look better then before. I used to think Jack-Jack looked ugly, now he actually looks adorable and I want to hug him (as long as he doesn't laser me to kingdom come that is XD) And even the color scheme has had a significant increase in polish too. The environments look very lush and organic and sets loov very authentic to the style that they are emulating. The 1950's and 60s of homes and such, even the characters still retain their look of the original which has the 50/60s inspired look to them too, all along while giving us such great character animation and expressions through the use of Pixars incredible hardware that we have grown up with since the beginning.
Music: If their is one thing that I really love about the film is its incredible music. Michael Giacchino (Incredibles, Up, Zootopia) brings back that same high octane superhero action meets jazzy flaire from the original along with some new tracks to go along with it that still makes it a joy to listen to on its own right, including the original main theme to the fighting sequences. He even wrote three different songs for the film that are little theme songs for both ElasticGirl, Frozone, and Mr. Incredible that sound great all as one song I dub the Superhero Medley. If you love swift sounding jazz, this is the kind of stuff for you to listen to. Also, is it just me, or does the Frozone song Chill or be Chilled (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sxus9b9_CyE) sound like it would make good sex music? Like Disney's verson of Careless Whisper
In the end, I give this film a solid 9 out of 10. While this film may not have the adult edge and more dark story writing as the original, this film still offers fun thrills, fun characters, fun music, fun of everything. If you are a fan of the original, this is a MUST WATCH
