Great, but not quite Incredible.

Rating: 8/10 (28 November 2004)

The Incredibles is undoubtedly Pixar's most "grown-up" movie to date. It is also perhaps their most "intellectual" movie. By which I don't mean that previous Pixar movies were somehow stupid, but rather that The Incredibles, despite being more action oriented, is more a movie for the brain and less a movie for the heart - particularly compared to Monsters Inc, and Nemo.
Opening with a quick sequence of interview cuts with the three main super heroes Elastigirl, Frozone, and of course Mr Incredible himself The Incredibles thankfully avoids any kind of origin story for these people. No nuclear powered spiders or murdered parents here. These people just are super heroes. This is the time of super heroes at the height of their power and popularity. Mr Incredible, otherwise known as Bob, saves kittens, foils robbers, and generally does good deeds - all at the same time, and all whilst on the way to his own wedding. Only an obsessed fan boy (literally) becomes a fly in the ointment. Mr Incredible is at his prime, and he works alone.
Then everything in super herodom falls apart. People start suing the super heroes, the government picks up the tab, and the heroes are forced into an early retirement through a relocation scheme. Cut to some fifteen years later - no longer Mr Incredible, but now simply Bob, who works in insurance.
The movie takes its more serious turn here as it delves into the life of an unhappy Bob in full mid-life crisis mode. Bob longs for the old life. Out of shape and in a dead end job he pines for action, for the adrenalin rush, for the glory days. Married now to Elastigirl - Helen - and with three kids, Bob seems set for a life of mediocrity and all around normality. Whilst his friend Frozone has settled into the quiet life without longing, Bob listens to police radio waiting for his chance to do some good.
The super-children themselves are not deeply drawn. Violet is the shy young girl who lacks confidence and just wants to be normal, whilst Dash is the bored little boy who aches to show off all that he is capable of and resents being held back. Jak jak, the baby, takes a back seat - obviously. After all, how much character development can one do with a baby? Yet Jak jak gets his own scene stealing moments and emerges as something of a character in his own right.
Bob's big break comes with the appearance of Mirage, a mysterious and beautiful young woman who offers him the chance of a return to the good old times. Bob seizes the opportunity with all he has, like a starving man grasping at a twinkie, and for a while all is well in Bob's world. Again he is the happy, powerful, virile Mr Incredible.
Until he is captured by the movie's villain, Syndrome, on a Bond-esquire island full of gadgetry and henchmen.
Helen, and the kids, set off to rescue their father. Along the way, of course, the usual stuff happens, the family overcome their respective character flaws and the world is saved.
This is not to dismiss the movie at this point, but merely to avoid any further plot details. Even though The Incredibles works best before the island rescue it still works extremely well through the family heroics and the action packed climax. The imagery is wonderful, the action pieces well designed and thoroughly entertaining, and even the sly satire and occasional homage are subtle and clever.
For something inevitably tagged "a kid's movie" there are dark times - such as the discovery of a hero's skeleton in the caves, - and there are adult quips - such as the drinking games of the henchmen. One scene in particular comes across on two unsettling levels. Bob's discovery of Syndrome's computer, and hence the villain's past actions, comes across as both horrifying and yet strangely Pokemon-like disconnected at the same time.
Yet I'm left with the feeling there should be something just a little more. Perhaps it's the well-trodden path the children go through, or perhaps it's the feeling that although The Incredibles does everything technically extremely well it actually breaks little new ground in terms of story or character. The children especially ooze cliché, and the outcome of every single character's arc is never in doubt for a moment.
Mostly, though not completely, The Incredibles is somewhat lacking of an emotional core. There are occasional break thoughts here, particularly Bob's interaction with Helen, yet the movie does not fully engage. This is not so much a criticism, after all this is a super hero cartoon not Lost in Translation, but where Pixar's films are invariably emotionally engaging to have one this slight is mildly disappointing.
Overall, The Incredibles offers an extremely entertaining time for children and adults alike, with enough smart moments and social commentary for those who want to see them. What it fails to offer is the emotional experience that Pixar movies are renowned for. 8/10