An Incredible Amount of Incredible Incredibleness From a Movie Called The Incredibles

Rating: 10/10 (27 February 2011)

Meet Bob Parr. Back in his heyday, he was a famous superhero named Mr. Incredible. Sadly, due to a series a worldwide lawsuits, he and his wife, the famous Elastigirl, have been forced into hiding for the last 15 years as normal civilians. While Elastigirl-or Helen, as she's known as in real-life-has moved on to raising a family, Bob is still stuck in the past and constantly feels a need to help others (even when it doesn't turn out well.)
Bob's big break comes to him when he's offered employment from a mysterious woman named Mirage, who claims that he can still be great if he wants to. Having recently been fired from his day job, and desperately wishing to do something significant with his life, Bob instantly agrees and heads off to his destination without telling his wife. Things seems great at first...until he bumps into an unfortunate part of his past that he so carelessly overlooked. It turns out that Buddy, a fan of his that he turned away from being his sidekick 15 years prior, is out to rid the world of superheroes in an attempt to become a one-man act named Syndrome. Helen eventually catches on to what her husband has been up to, but by then it's too late: Bob has gotten himself into a dilemma that has put him, his marriage and- ultimately-his family in jeopardy.
To date, I've seen this movie 3 times: once when it first came out on DVD in 2004, once when I purchased the movie in January and once just a few weeks later when I was bored. Each time, I was able to experience just how great this movie really is. Brad Bird may have gotten his start with the often-overlooked classic known as The Iron Giant, but it's with The Incredibles that he's truly able to shine. Part social-commentary, part dramatic-fiction and part action movie, The Incredibles is just another example of how animation is easily capable of replicating the quality of live-action films, perhaps even surpassing them. The movie has mature humour, impressive animation, excellent voice acting (such as Craig Nelson, Holly Hunter, Jason Lee and Samuel L. Jackson) and the usual touch that can only be found in a Pixar movie. Pixar has made 11 movies so far, but this is easily one of their most serious and ambitious works to date.
Overall, this is a movie worth seeing. It seems as though, for every good action film we get these days, there are five bad ones to take its place. To that end, it's a good thing that The Incredibles is one of the greats. Not only is it a fun movie, but it's also a smart one that demonstrates just how talented a director Brad Bird really is. It's not my favourite venture from the studio (that'd be Toy Story 3,) but it's still a mighty-fine one. Hats off to you, Pixar: you never fail to amaze with your splendour.
Final Score: 10/10.