Mr. Incredible made to look like Mr. Underwhelming

Rating: 5/10 (9 October 2018)

TL;DR pretty good overall but was needlessly politicized and betrayed original portrayal of some of the main characters.
The first film was a groundbreaking animation back in 2004, one that I will always keep going back to: witty dialogue full of one-liners, smooth sequences, a group of heroes rooted in the everyday lives of the (majority of) the audience - and a villain just as iconic. It was, and remains a memorable tour de force in Pixar animation and a stunning achievement in cinema.
People everywhere love superheroes for being so different, they are seen as an answer to the world's problems - but Brad Bird showed us that being ordinary: a mother, a father, a friend, son or daughter is equally as extraordinary and equally as important in keeping bad at bay.
He showed us that the family in all its parts is worth so much more in its whole - this sequel betrays that beautiful expression. In the original Incredibles movie, Elastigirl and Mr Incredible were equals. They both had strengths and weaknesses, and in the end she ended up saving him. I loved that movie. It was about a loving family and about equal partnership. The sequel abandons that.
After many viewings of the first film, I've asked myself: "does this really even need a sequel? Has everything Brad Bird wanted to say been said?"
That's up to you to decide, but the fact that Incredibles 2 is the second highest (nearly the highest) grossing animated film of all time, behind 2013's Frozen, speaks for itself; people believed Brad Bird had more to say and turned up in their droves to hear it.
The anticipated sequel did (eventually) come after a 14-year wait. But was Pixar's 20th feature film up to the coveted "incredible" standard?
Continuing where the last film left off; superheroes are still illegal, and the Parr family is against the ropes trying to find its purpose after it faces mounting legal pressures to hang up the suits for good.
It sounds like a good starting point, but things rapidly take a turn for the worse:
1. It's needlessly politicized: a consistent portrayal of Mr. Incredible as insecure and unstable:
This film shifts the focus away from Mr. Incredible as the centerpiece, not necessarily a bad thing, but a major problem is that it was done in a way that made Mr. Incredible look like a clueless idiot.
"Mr. Underwhelming"
Mr. Incredible was shown as an embittered, incapable father figure that is clearly annoyed (and jealous) that his wife wasn't staying at home and he was out doing the crime-fighting. He was portrayed as too "messy" to be a hero, and as a father even messier; degrading and depressing, this motif contributed nothing to the story and spat on the previous film's legacy, it lacked any comedic nuance.
It was completely out of character for Bob Parr, a character who is known to be selfless, supportive and at no point in the previous film had demonstrated egotistical traits that this film now claims he has.
If anything, a cringe-worthy stretch to make Bob look like a bumbling oaf.
Furthermore, the film's third wave feminist influences can be seen clearly early on: "it's not like I don't like strong women... I'm pretty secure, manhood-wise" - an utterly pointless line bizarrely included in an early scene from Violet's crush Tony Rydinger.
Why is that line remotely relevant to the wider plot? Out of context social commentary doesn't need to be there, especially not in a family entertainment film aimed at kids. Did Brad Bird sell out?
2. A poor villain that lacked screen-time, charisma, and was nowhere near as engaging as Syndrome.
The villain, while having some iconic attributes, wasn't connected to anything particularly significant or as deeply personal as Syndrome was.
The audience was never made to feel the villain's personal plight or raison d'Ãªtre, because of that the villain wasn't engaging, was largely predictable, and failed to earn much (if any) emotional investment.
3. Too much emphasis on the "stay-at-home dad" trope.
Family is core part of the Incredibles, always has been, but the focus was obsessed on the Jack-Jack subplot, the unraveling of his powers and Mr. Incredible's unfunny mental breakdown.
All were novelties that wore thin, using precious time where something more original could have been developed (there was plenty of screen-time to do so). Fortunately, the movie wasn't a showreel of old gags and throwbacks, even if returning to Edna (a fan favorite character) was a marketable move for the trailer, it was not a decision that really moved the plot forward.
It gets a 5/10, because it was half of what the first film was. Cinema may be past its prime, politics have seeped into most big-budget productions, this one included.