More of the same

Rating: Null/10 (4 October 2018)

After fourteen years, Brad Bird returns to his spy/superhero mix. The film picks up immediately after the events of the original film, which is admittedly something you don't see every day, but at the same time I also feel that it constrains the film, forces it into a cubicle.
The film looks and feels almost exactly like the original. Which is great. The colours are still phenomenal, the 60s spy thriller aesthetic is still superb and a refreshing change of pace, the characters feel familiar and the even though the special effects and animation quality have definitely gone up in fourteen years, the transition is pretty much seamless.
What I don't appreciate as much is the fact that this is almost exactly the same movie as the original one. At least in terms of theme, plot, character arc and underlying message. Once again we have superheroes under scrutiny. Once again Mr. Incredible has to juggle family duties with his consuming need of being a hero. And so on and so on, ad nauseam.
And certainly, a lot of sequels are very similar to their predecessors. But I think it's safe to say that we can expect more from Pixar. And more from Brad Bird. The man has reportedly said that he didn't want to make a sequel to The Incredibles unless he had something new to tell. Well... this isn't new. You can definitely watch it and appreciate it for its technical excellence, its great characters and its thrilling story. But you don't get anything from it. Nothing you haven't gotten from the original, that is. And I don't like that. This film universe has so much potential for great and meaningful stories that it's a great shame to see it wasted like this.
Still, it's by no means a bad film. It is enjoyable to watch and as a standalone film I do like it a lot. As a sequel it leaves much to be desired.