Incredible Follow Up

Rating: 8/10 (15 June 2018)

It's another weekend and with it comes another attempt for Disney to sweep the box office with another "masterpiece" to win the hearts of many. After 14 years (according to the pre-movie showing), my favorite Pixar movie comes back to bay with the sequel to hopefully bring spectacular adventure back to bay. Incredibles 2 is promising to be a lot of fun, but we never know what the studios of Disney will put into a movie to meet the expectations. Robbie K here back with another review, to help guide your movie watching pleasures. So, let's get started.
Movie: Incredibles 2 (2018)
Director:
Brad Bird
Writer:
Brad Bird
Stars:
Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell

LIKES:
Cute: If the trailers didn't paint this picture, take it from the reviewer that Incredibles 2 is chock full of adorable features to woo the hearts of many. Both young and old are going to find something to hook onto in the Super family's drama, whether it be the pint-sized baby or the warm feeling one gets of the strong morals of family, and it absolutely accomplishes the family friendly atmosphere.
Balanced First Act: Pixar's team showed much promise of matching the first movie in regards to all the balancing it did long ago. The Incredibles 2's first half is beautifully crafted to include action, story, comedy, and morals into an engaging tale that accomplishes the goal of setting up for an epic conclusion. It's primarily run by splitting the story between the two plots of Elastigril (Holly Hunter) working to uncover the mystery of the ScreenSlaver and Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) trying to a parent, making sure to give each section their due focus and efficiently switching between arcs.
Relevant: While I can't relate to some parts of the movie, I applaud Disney/Pixar doing everything it can to craft a tale that is relevant to so many people. For comic book fans like me, the dilemmas of heroes doing their job despite the prejudice of society speaks strong in terms of your values challenging others. Others will cope well with the girl power motif that Elastigirl's arc portrays, keeping it mostly on the down low, yet hitting hard where it needs to be. Yet, there will be many who will grip tightly to family moments and the challenges modern parents face given a changing society. By broadening this cope, Incredibles II is going to rope in a lot of fans of varying ages, all once again getting captivated by the arcs in store.
Animation/Action: The movie is well animated, no surprise there from the masters of CGI storytelling. While Pixar always gets points for their world building, character design, and fluid motion, Incredibles 2 amps up the ante by including action sequences into the mix. Fortunately, they accomplish the goal of adrenaline pumping stunts, comic like combat, and making sure it remained pertinent to the story so as not to appear random. Your little one will be able to handle much of the stunts thrown in and become super impressed by all that comes with Pixar's approach to action.
Comedy: Of course, you want to laugh in a movie, and the Pixar group is happy to deliver a variety of laughs to the mix. The first Incredibles have a number of inside jokes revisited in this installment, primarily in the obsessions of the characters. In addition, some of the melodramatic moments are going to be relevant to some, causing the age groups that relate to it to get the most laughs. Jack-Jack's cute levels are going to appeal to most of the bunch, as the baby with no limits defies just about everything to bring his high-pitched laughter out in full. My favorite though...Edna Mode whose attitude and mannerisms are back in full force, with little to hold back the Dahlings.

DISLIKES:
Predictable: The mystery of Screen Slaver is certainly the factor to keep you guessing, until you figure out the twist a mile away. Incredibles 2 doesn't do a good job of hiding the identify well, using some of the blatantly obvious dialogue to drop the hints long before the big reveal. In addition, the way they take obvious detours with some of the characters paints a bullseye on the back. It would have been nice to have a bigger twist, but sadly all the other antics took precedence in this movie.
Inconsistencies in Story Components: The movie certainly establishes a lot of super powers to come in, but some of the gifted characters may have a little more power than one expects. During some of the action scenes in this film, a few of the characters could have easily solved things with these overpowered components. No limits are established to explain these components, and certainly that takes away from the suspense when you realize how easily they could have solved it. Most won't care about this dislike, but eventually as people rewatch it and tear it apart, you'll start to realize these moments. At this point, I'll state that some of the new characters didn't have the best utilization of the new characters, showing off some abilities, but never the extent of warranting inclusion, with the exception of one.
Jack-Jack Balance: The first act broke the balance the first established, in order to bring more screen time to Jack-Jack's antics. Merchandising is going to have a field day with the pint sized hero, utilizing all his new modes portrayed in the movie for toys, books, and whatever else you can think of. The movie focuses so much attention on the little guy, that it soon started to go overboard for me. In addition, the trailers only show you a fragment of the little guys power, and despite the attempt to explain his abilities, Jack's-Jack's power is insanely overdone to the point he is almost like a deity. I said there were a few broken parts and this is the example.
Anti-climactic finish: Remember the end of the first movie where you were on the edge of your seat as the family fought that giant Robot that held no qualms with destruction? Me too! Incredibles had done a nice job building up the giant antagonist and covering their bases to design a challenging, but doable end fight. The second installment however, resorted to some cheaper tactics that diluted what was supposed to be the most exciting moments of the movie. Part of it came from the predictability of the story, another part came from the focus on the comedy instead of the action/story. Yet for me, the action scenes seemed much shorter and simpler, not bringing the heroes to a conducive dynamic that the first one shined with. Why there could not have been more excitement infused in, I don't know, but I was hoping for a repeat ending that I saw all those years ago.

THE VERDICT:
Incredibles 2 accomplished much of the goals set out since the sparks of the first trailer showed up on the screen. It's a family friendly movie that appeals to both generations, the first part in particular absolutely accomplishing the level of quality the first had. With the balance of comedy, story, animation, and relevant plot elements it is going to appeal to so many and hook you into the film. However, the movie still didn't quite strike the chords the first one did as the plot was predictable, the power levels inconsistent, and the merchandising approach of the baby it just didn't maintain that balance I loved. Plus, the finish could have used a little more work to help pull everything together in a satisfying way. Still, this movie warrants a visit to the theater, and YES kids should have no problem handling this movie, though gauge their responses to loud noises, darker shadows, and one darker element of the plot about 45 minutes in. Well done Pixar for managing to craft something well, now just strive for the balance again and you have it down to a perfect.
My scores are:
Animation/Action/Adventure: 8.5
Movie Overall: 7.5