Director: Brad Bird
Date: 8 June 2018
jamesintexas rating: ***
Pixar has its formulas, and tried and true, they deliver an entertaining, rollicking ride in Incredibles 2, a film that I found quite fun if not as inventive or memorable as its predecessor. We've been watching that first film a bunch in our home in anticipation of this one, and from its stunning art design (Art Deco, early 1960's fashion, fun angles) to its soaring Michael Giacchino score, it moves with energy and humor simultaneously as a super-family emerges from hiding, mostly playing on the dynamic between Bob/Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) and Helen/Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) who wrestle with middle age and family responsibilities as much as the mighty villain Syndrome.
Here, the story picks up at a police station interview, unpacking the scene that ended the previous film through the lens of witness Tony Rydinger (Michael Bird). Jack-Jack (Eli Fucile) monitoring Violet (Sarah Vowell) removed her mask momentarily and was spotted by HS classmate Tony, while Dash (Huck Milner) ran crowd control for the parents who unsuccessfully try to stop The Underminer (John Ratzenberger), resulting in major damage for the city and city hall, terrible press for the Supers, and the shutting down of their program. Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson) at least has the sense to leave before the party ends, as he puts it, but their existence is threatened until stylishly-named mysterious millionaire Winston Deavor (Bob Odenkirk) and Evelynn Deavor (Catherine Keener) invite The Supers to help them reassert the role of superheroes on the planet, in part to right a tragic wrong from their childhood. The film hinges on Helen being the one they want to focus on with the positive media attention; Evelynn's cost-benefits analyses prove more beneficial for her than for the destructive Mr. Incredible. So, he takes on the domestic front, meaning lots of time with Jack-Jack, Dash's New Math, and Violet's embarrassment of being seen with him, all set within a stylist mid-century modern mansion, like something out of Alfred Hitchcock's North By Northwest. Elastigirl finds herself drawn further and further into the mystery of a masked criminal who is terrorizing the city, and a dazzling train rescue which would rival James Bond's best on a motorcycle sequence leads to more and more clues and uncertainty. The story lines are separate between the home front and the family front, and though the dramatic tension is not as strong as the previous film, we get lots of fun sequences: Jack-Jack vs. his neighborhood backyard nemesis; Edna (Brad Bird) and her marvelous reappearance, stealing the film; a wonderful Bond-esque Incredi-mobile that needs to be reacquired. There's a big deal giant fight scene at the end, of course.
So, what gives? The voice work delivers great performances, especially from Hunter, who is a national treasure. Frozone gets a little bit more to do. There are some fun, nice supporting new characters. But, overall, the film has a by-the-numbers feel to it, and is overall less special than its original partially because of the less than incredible villainy. The indulgences of playing up sequences and characters that work (Jack-Jack, Edna) cover up the ones who lack development or just anything to do (Violet and Dash). The animation is truly incredible, naturally, and it is astounding to see how far the art from has come in just fourteen years. The fourteen years in between signifies to me that there wasn't a need or a narrative drive to re-establish this universe beyond fun (and oodles of box office cash). I won't lie: sitting next to Gus-Gus and watching Jack-Jack, cackling with glee, the film hits all of its marks. Liking Finding Dory before it, Incredibles 2 is superfluous and fine. You could spend your time (and money) in many worse ways. So, that's not a ringing endorsement, but as a summer movie, enjoyable with little ones, Incredibles 2 does the job.
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