Fourteen years later, and the Incredibles are as charming as ever.

Rating: 7/10 (15 July 2018)

Brad Birds The Incredibles (2004) is a film deeply embedded in my childhood. During a time in which my interest in superhero comics and cartoons was reaching its peak, it felt as though The Incredibles had arrived at the perfect time, resulting in becoming one of my very favourite Pixar films. It still is, in fact. With the original being held in such high regard by many, it was always going to be risky business releasing a long-awaited sequel fourteen years later. As far as Pixar sequels and prequels go (Finding Dory in 2016 and Monsters University in 2013), I'm not particularly a fan, except for the stellar Toy Story (1995-2010) trilogy. Brad Bird had promised that a sequel to his breakout hit would never be made unless the script was right. And now here we are, fourteen years later, hearing the campy, silver age style villain monologue "Behold, the Underminer!" once again. At last, the story continues, precisely where the original film left off.
Opening with a fantastic confrontation between the Parr family and the Mole-Man inspired Underminer (a battle I never thought I'd see), Bird swiftly returns us to a cheap motel in which the Parr's currently reside due to Syndrome's burning ship destroying their home three months prior. As it stands, superheroes are still illegal, a law Mr. Incredible (Nelson) is adamant needs changing. Down on their luck and running out of options, Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson) drops them a tip that they may have a chance to amend the banishment of superheroes law forever. Keeping Violet and Dash in the dark about the opportunity on the horizon, Frozone leads Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl (Hunter) to DevTech, a telecommunications company led by brother-sister duo Winston and Evelyn Deavor. Working towards bringing superheroes back into the limelight, they propose Elastigirl be the face of their campaign, much to Mr. Incredibles bemusement. As Elastigirl is away uncovering the mystery of new supervillain Screenslaver, Mr. Incredible is left to watch over Violet, Dash and Jack-Jack, who's assortment of powers become increasingly hard to keep under control (displayed in a wonderful sequence in which Jack-Jack faces off with a raccoon).
Just like the original film, Incredibles 2 is packed full of exciting action sequences, many of which even improve on those from the first film. They're breath-taking to watch, and the scope of the film, in general, feels much larger this time round. Whereas the first film belonged to Mr. Incredible, this film is most definitely owned by Elastigirl. Elastigirl's mission is more rooted in mystery (compared to Mr. Incredibles rock 'em sock 'em assignments from the original) as she quickly discovers an adversary in Screenslaver, who uses hypnotising technology to brainwash all those who are exposed to it. Whilst still an interesting villain with believable motivations, Screenslaver never quite measures up to the menace of Syndrome from the first film, and the reveal was particularly predictable. It's refreshing to see Elastigirl taking the lead here as she features in some of the most well-constructed action sequences in recent movies, be it animation or live action.
Taking a break from the action, Mr. Incredible tries his best to navigate his way through his kid's problems as a stay at home father; Violet is struggling with boy problems whilst Dash can't quite figure out his Maths homework, and Jack-Jack gleefully causes mayhem by shooting lasers from his eyes and rapidly multiplying, with small bursts of mutating into a red monster baby (glimpsed first in the original films finale). It's a sweet subplot, and reinforces the fact that parenting is an act of heroism in its own right.
In the one of the original films darker moments, it is revealed to us that Syndrome had murdered just about every superhero from the glory days of supers. With this film working towards bringing them back into the spotlight, we're introduced to several new heroes who unfortunately don't quite get the time to distinguish themselves as memorable characters and fail to make any real impact to Elastigirl and her mission, with the possible exception for Voyd, who can conjure voids reminiscent of those from the Portal video game. Nevertheless, they never truly come across as dead weight and don't drag the film down.
Thankfully, Incredibles 2 is a sequel that feels like it was worth the wait. With stunning action, more humour and a great lead in Elastigirl, Brad Bird delivers a sequel that will please long-time fans of his original film. Nostalgia goggles are unavoidable here, and there are certainly glimpses of fan service throughout, but Incredibles 2 is strong enough to stand on its own. Although it doesn't quite measure up to the heights of the first film, it's certainly a fun time at the movies.