Lives up to its name

Rating: 10/10 (17 January 2010)

On the face of it this may look like it is very much a film for children that will have little appeal to adults unless they are watching it with their children; this however would be a mistake as it has a good story that adults can enjoy too. Some aspects are clearly aimed at the adult viewer such as obvious references to James Bond, these are done in a way that people who don't see the reference won't get the impression that they are missing something.
The film opens fifteen years ago in a world where superheroes routinely fight crime and protect the population... until the population is fed up with paying to repair all the damage they do while fighting crime. Banned from using their powers they are forced to hie their super powers and live regular lives. Back in the present Mr Incredible is working in an insurance office by day and sneaking off with his old friend Frozone to fight crime by night... while his wife Helen, formally Elastigirl believes he is just bowling. After one such outing he is contacted by the mysterious Mirage who offers him a chance to use his powers again in service of the government. He thinks he can hide this from his wife but she spots that his costume has been repaired and contacts the designer Edna 'E' Mode who tells her that not only did she repair it but also made him another. Helen goes to see her and while there learns that her husband has been captured; she must go to his rescue, accompanied by their two children who stowed away on her plane... luckily they have powers that will help rescue their father from Syndrome, his former number one fan who has gone somewhat insane and makes up for his own lack of powers with an array of gadgets.
Pixar did a great job making this film, making the characters feel believable even though they are animated superheroes. The story was fairly gripping and there was a sense of danger... we were shown that Syndrome had already killed several other "Supers". Some parents might not be too keen on the fact that some people die, including a few in an amusing scene about the dangers of wearing a cape, none of these deaths are likely to scare children though. I would certainly recommend this film to anybody wanting to see a well made film with a good story and nothing to offend.