A sequel worth waiting for

Rating: 7/10 (17 June 2018)

I have been quick to criticize Pixar's recent infatuation with sequels. We did not need another Cars or Monsters Inc, and we certainly did not need another Finding Nemo. I want them to tell original stories...not recycle old ones. And this one is a tad predictable and old fashioned. But you know what? It is hard to criticize sequels when they are THIS good. It would have been so easy to make the second Incredibles an action-fest of family crime fighting, but this movie managed to remember what made the first film so great: fully realized characters and one of the most realistic family dynamics ever captured on screen. From the marital tensions to the sibling bickering, you know these people. And the writing is JUST as strong this time around. It means you care, and it means you recognize yourself, and it means you laugh. This film is not about new villains so much as it is about new angles on rich characters. Fifteen years after the first Incredibles, we are awash with super hero movies. Sometimes it seems like they are all Hollywood cares about. But few of them are this good. Pixar nailed it the first time around, and this sequel absolutely nailed it too.