The Incredibles 2 (2018)

[AniNate]

The first 3/4s of the movie are excellent, but the villain and ensuing final showdown are pretty underwhelming. Movie felt like it had written itself into a corner and just ended up contriving its way to a happy ending. The family is as entertaining to watch as always.

[salvador-232]

This was a fun movie, really really fun. Unlike Dory or Brave it doesn't try badly to be emotional or to recreate Pixar's magic (and fail at it). This movie knew exactly what it wanted to be and it was great.

 

Too bad the latin american dub changed Edna's voice and while it was good the original one was better. In any case, Jack Jack + Edna was just glorious. 

Edited June 20, 2018 by salvador-232

[filmlover]

5 hours ago, tribefan695 said:

The first 3/4s of the movie are excellent, but the villain and ensuing final showdown are pretty underwhelming. Movie felt like it had written itself into a corner and just ended up contriving its way to a happy ending. The family is as entertaining to watch as always.

That was actually the one thing I didn't really like about this. Evelyn's motivation to damage the reputation of supers forever is because...her and Winston's father (and later their mother) died because supers couldn't save them due to being rendered illegal? Movie ends up feeling even smaller in stakes than its predecessor, which is sorta disappointing considering it took almost 14 years to get a sequel.

Edited June 21, 2018 by filmlover

[AniNate]

I mean, it's not an inherently bad thing to go smaller in a sequel, but yes, her motivations and character in general were extremely weak; only really displaying power and agency when the plot required it.

[HeyItsMoses]

here's hoping for Incredibles 3, we see the final show down between the family and the underminer. 

[BK007]

Managed to see this today and quite enjoyed myself. 

However, it is a far cry from the original, and perhaps even the direction of where superhero movies have since gone on to.

Incredibles 2 is a crowd pleaser, and a wholly inoffensive and solid entry as a sequel, superhero and Pixar movie. But that is simply no longer enough. 

 

Whatever the original did right, is diluted here. Whilst the original was a disruptor and still remains one all these years later, despite MCU, Deadpool, Logan etc. the sequel is episodical, lacking in character and identity. 

Few superhero movies, if any, came with the resonance of the original with its strong story and focus on characters and a perspective never seen and arguably hasn't been seen since. The latest trend of the superhero movie is for a strong director to imprint their mark (Thor) or something thematically different/strong (Black Panther) or attempting to break its pitfalls and stereotypes (Deadpool, Logan) - all of which gives the genre (yes, it is one) something fresh, if not necessarily mindblowing or original. Personally, Deadpool doesn't work, Black Panther's actual story is pretty awful and Thor was pretty much a comedy- but you could see the effort to at least attempt another offering like The Incredibles. Definitely moreso than Incredibles 2 attempted.

In a world post-Toy Story 3, the possibilities for the Incredibles (if not Dory or Monsters Uni) were endless. What could a creative genius like Brad Bird, who made my favourite movie of all time in Ratatouille, do with another adventure with the Parr family? Incredibles set the bar so high, and Ratatouille and Toy Story 3 gave that dream, that audacity of originality, hope. It would've been something never seen before, and perhaps lead Hollywood down a better path. Alas, the expectation was too great and clearly it was beyond Bird. If Tomorrowland and Bird's time in live action wasn't as disastrous and off-putting as the desperate Andrew Stanton, it certainly was not very inspirational either despite the potential of sci-fi and Bird. 

That's not to say that Incredibles 2 is rubbish, far from it. It manages to distinguish itself as a pretty good sequel for Pixar and not the aimlessness DTV Dory or Monsters Uni. Its strength lies in giving you what you like, more family comedy interplay, pretty fantastic action setpieces and a return to the characters you liked in 2004. It's a good time, but not much else goes on under the surface. 

The danger of giving you the same characters is that it suggests the arc in the previous film is thrown out the window. None of the characters seem to grow, which is fine for another studio, but disappointing for Pixar. It is their reputation that entrusts a higher standard, so when they give a run-of-the-mill sequel, it just feels like an opportunity or potential wasted. None of the others are going to give you what Pixar does, but they can certainly give you the enjoyable standard of Incredibles 2. Why should Pixar aim for lower becnhmarks? If Pixar has lost its nerve, who could step up?

Whilst my young adult Violet & Dash idea may not have been the best or worked, and whilst choosing to make Bob the parent this time around was a good choice, it went for safety and cliche with its execution, script and dialogue. Dash may be too young for much depth, but Violet certainly deserves a lot more than pining for Tony. Bob's insecurity with his masculinity and role was a bit OTT. Yeah, it only takes place, well immediately after the first film ends, and in reality it probably is anti-climatic and lessons are hard to practice, but what it does is it robs us of the imagination and future we saw for these characters that the first film set up. It devalues it, which is problematic for all kinds of sequels that follow this route (Star Wars for example). 

I never thought I'd see the day an Incredibles 2 was made, but for all its disappointments and flaws, I'm glad it was made. I'd rather they ended it here because I don't believe Bird has another in him and certainly not one that could match his earlier efforts. 

Last thoughts; Screenslaver was an abject villain. Convoluted motive and plan. Rambling incoherent unsatisfactory speech. You could tell who it was instantly and that makes it a poor effort. 

[Kravetz]

I thought this was the best film of the summer and an outstanding superhero film in the genre. It wasn't until the climax of the film that I left my mode of simply enjoying the film and went into my adult critical mode. As usual I will focus on the negatives while I still ranked this film an A and give it high priase. 

 

When the baby simply lands on the bad guys and in effect squashes all of them at once. I thought to myself "That would be a good time for the baby to exert some new powers and take out all of the bad guys single handed while the older siblings watch in awe. It is at this point I wondered why they didn't take off the glasses and free other supers. Then I realized this is a kids film, and they botched the formula so they must have good reason, They didn't.  I laughed when Mr Incredible breaks off the anchor as part of his plan to stop a moving ship. He could use the anchor just as easily. The whole boat stop was messy. I can accept a world with superheroes, and future tech in my film but the conduct of the characters should be consistent. The film ended up disappointing me, but I still enjoyed it. 

Edited June 22, 2018 by Kravetz
awe not ewe big difference

[Fancyarcher]

My review.

 

https://dailyuv.com/feed/961728?location=norwich-vt

[Webslinger]

It’s no small compliment to say that Incredibles 2 mostly lives up to the massive weight of expectations associated with its 14-year wait. It’s not quite in the sublime tier the first film occupies, but it recaptures much of the heart, wit, and visual dynamism that made that film such a delight. As before, the central superhero story feels fresh and intriguingly meta in its consideration of where superheroes should fit within the fabric of society; it also remains easy to read into the titular family and their fellow supers as a subtle but powerful X-Men-eque allegory for oppressed groups. The shifting family dynamics in this sequel work very effectively, often mining effective comedy from Mr. Incredible’s Mr. Mom travails and refreshing pro-feminist derring-do from Elastigirl – whose cleverness and agency get greater attention in this installment. Even Violet’s boy-driven angst – a subplot that doesn’t seem like it should work at first glance – scores both well-earned laughs and moments of surprising tenderness. The villain this time out is not as effective as Syndrome (and the “twist” will be easy for most genre-savvy viewers to piece together ahead of time), but the action sequences are eye-popping and take full advantage of the playful fluidity that animation affords. From beginning to end, it’s clear that everyone involved with this sequel was committed to making it special, and that dedication translates to a thoroughly entertaining experience. Like the first film, I’m sure I’ll end up revisiting it plenty of times over.

 

A-

 

Stray Thoughts:

- About that villain... 

Spoiler

I figured out the twist during the conversation with Helen in which Evelyn discussed remaining behind the scenes in Devtech. It's pretty obvious from the Deavors' backstory that one or both of them will be the true villains and the murder of their parents will play into their motivations somehow, and the conversation mentioned here all-but-confirmed it.

 

Also: Between this and Get Out, I guess Catherine Keener just has a thing for villains who prefer mind control.

 

- I can't overstate how surprised and charmed I was with Violet's characterization here. It should be too cliche-riddled to work, but damn if Sarah Vowell's voice work and the writing don't capture her teen angst in a fun, sweet way.

[Blankments]

Bao is one of Pixar's weirdest shorts, featuring gorgeous animation and a surprisingly heartfelt story. More than that, it's insanely funny and features a super smart ending. A delicious morsel before a hearty meal, the way a good short should be! B

 

When one wishes for something for fourteen years, it's easy to feel underwhelmed by what you get back. That's my first impression after rewatching Incredibles 2, a film that disappoints to expectations that prove to be impossible to meet. After all, when you're following a bonafide modern classic with some of the best writing in the entire superhero genre, you expect something perfect. Incredibles 2 isn't perfect, but it's still exemplary in nearly every way.

 

It's a sequel that builds on the themes of the original, and takes the characters in unexpected new paths. Elastigirl may be the focus but her arc is the most murky, mostly due to the villain being kept under wraps for a bit too long of the runtime. You can still track something thematically, but it's hard to really put a name to what that is. Violet and Bob fare a lot better, with nicely fleshed out evolution to their characters with also a strong element related to family that easy to empathize with. Violet in particular steals the show, being probably the most realistically depicted awkward teenager I've seen in an animated movie. The voice-acting of these three are universally excellent, with Hunter, Nelson, and Vowell bringing their characters to life with plenty emotion and lots of humor.

 

Jack-Jack is a load of joy too, and Frozone and Dash get small chances to shine, even though it's definitely not their movie. Of the new characters, Odenkirk gives a fun vocal performance as Winston Deaver, with Keener getting the more nuanced role as his sister. Of the new supers, Voyd is the only one who stands out, thanks to creative use of her powers, and a cool side-arc that plays out pretty well.

 

The real star here is the action and comedy, both of which are improved on the first film. The action frequently astounds beyond description, flowing with excellent imagery and countless thrills. There are so many moments when I was simply smiling because of how insane the multi-powered frenzy was on screen, and yet how easy it was to watch and understand. The comedy is broader but also welcome; this is Pixar's funniest movie in quite some time.

 

Giacchino's score is evocative of the original in a great sense, and features enough new themes that it's a major strength of the film. The art-style shift to a more comic-y look with line-work and shadows and a welcome one, giving the film a distinct look even among other Pixar films. Bird's script is still wry, but lacks a cohesive theme behind it, instead focusing on smaller ideas for individual characters to tackle, while furthering the elements of the original film. His direction is top-notch; it's hard to imagine a blockbuster this year with more creatively staged setpieces of comedy, action, and drama.

 

Overall, the biggest disappointment of Incredibles 2 is just that it took so long to come. Elastigirl's plot may be a bit underdeveloped, but it's still always a joy to watch, along with every other scene in the film. The lack of a cohesive BIG idea is a bit of a let-down too, but there's enough cool stuff thematically and aesthetically here to make up for that. It's also a little rushed at the very end, forced to conform to an under-two-hour runtime for an animated movie.

 

Still, despite these minor problems, it's still a top-tier movie that proves that the Parrs (and Frozone) are some of Pixar's most charming characters, being more than fascinating enough to anchor a sequel. The first thing audiences will think after leaving Incredibles 2 will be the same thing they thought fourteen years ago: when will we get to return to this awesome world? Hopefully it won't take another fourteen years, but even if Incredibles 2 is the end, it will have been well-worth the wait. A

[Captain Craig]

Grade: A-

 

A really good followup with just a few minor hiccups for me.

 

Being a "kids" film I get that the plot wouldn't be too deep to unwind. However, they know not just kids are rushing to see this. Therefore that fact that you can peg the Billionaire Sister as the bad guy is pretty easy to figure out by or before the middle of the film.

 

It too easily falls into the cliche of essentially doing the first film with a few rearrangements. First film Mr. Incredible is highlighted, rest of family only deeply involved in the 3rd Act finale. Here, it's ElastiGirl, dad at home, kids on sideline till 3rd Act. The new rub is JackJack gets in on things. 

 

Edna was horribly underused

 

Lots of fun and I would recommend it to anyone who loves the first. 

[aabattery]

"We needed double-A batteries but I got triple -A's and now we still need double-A batteries"

 

We all need AA batteries, Mr. Incredible.

 

Enjoyed this a lot. Craig T. Nelson has a really good yell.

[WrathOfHan]

2 hours ago, aabattery said:

"We needed double-A batteries but I got triple -A's and now we still need double-A batteries"

 

We all need AA batteries, Mr. Incredible.

 

Enjoyed this a lot. Craig T. Nelson has a really good yell.

lol I thought of you in the theater when this happened

[La Binoche]

Pretty fun but still underwhelming. Very weak villain. B

 

Changed my mind. This is more like a C+. On top of having a weak villain, it's forgettable and too reliant on the cute baby which is something you'd expect from those shitty Illuminations movies. 

Edited July 6, 2018 by La Binoche

[Blankments]

Wow, when you have a bad crowd, Bao plays a lot differently. Not gonna even try to evaluate it again because people were laughing through everything despite it still being the good short that it is. Teenagers are dumb.

 

“To help my family, I gotta leave it. To fix the law, I gotta break it.”

 

A film of paradoxes. Conflicting themes build to something very obtuse and nevertheless enjoyable. Bird’s filmmaking has never been more kinetic and the result is the most unadulterated fun and classically constructed superhero movie in years. Pure blockbuster filmmaking with a delightfully complex mind behind it. A

[Spidey Freak]

On 6/21/2018 at 1:07 AM, tribefan695 said:

The first 3/4s of the movie are excellent, but the villain and ensuing final showdown are pretty underwhelming. Movie felt like it had written itself into a corner and just ended up contriving its way to a happy ending. 

 

On 6/21/2018 at 6:20 AM, filmlover said:

That was actually the one thing I didn't really like about this. Evelyn's motivation to damage the reputation of supers forever is because...her and Winston's father (and later their mother) died because supers couldn't save them due to being rendered illegal? Movie ends up feeling even smaller in stakes than its predecessor, which is sorta disappointing considering it took almost 14 years to get a sequel.

Second go around, I found Evelyn's characterization and motivations to be much stronger and clear cut than was apparent on first viewing (even though I really enjoyed her even then and understood her motives, albeit on a more surface level). The Screenslaver's first monologue alludes to the fact that what she REALLY hated more than the existence of the Supers themselves was the thought of people like her father giving up his agency and safety (and that of his family's) to somebody else, only in vain. It's why she lashes out at Helen/Elastigirl for "trusting a stranger just because they did a small favor for them" and berates her father twice for not going into the safe room as her mother begged him to. 

 

She essentially wanted to end the reliance on supers by nipping the image rehab campaign in the bud. She also despised humanity's over-reliance on stuff like technology, despite being a tech genius herself. Basically anything that substituted "real experiences" with simulations or outsourcing experiences to somebody else and living vicariously through them, which she found as robbing individuals and society as a collective of true growth (the first monologue does spell all of this out so it's not like I'm overthinking it).

 

Regarding her scheme being more low stakes, I suspect it was deliberate that they didn't make Evelyn as ruthless and blood-thirsty as Syndrome as this being the second movie, was probably planned to be the "middle" chapter from the beginning. My hunch is Evelyn will be brought back for the third film, possibly even forced to be a reluctant ally for Elastigirl and fam against a common, more lethal threat. She genuinely did seem to want to be Helen's friend and wanted her to be more independent/less reliant on her husband (which fits with Screenslaver's entire theme).

Edited July 7, 2018 by Spidey Freak

[Goffe]

Can we get a good Pixar sequel, please? I'm tired of watching movies bent on doing just enough, coasting on the familiar. Just unmemorable all around; it's Dory 2.0.

 

The original is my favorite animated movie of all time, but this is a 6/10.

Edited July 15, 2018 by Goffe

[Goffe]

This is not as seamless and focused as the first one, not by a long shot. Plot threads don't interact with each other well, feeling like nothing more than a brain-dead collage of subplots. Elastgirl shows no growth whatsoever, being pretty much static through the whole thing, which made her story outside of the cool setpieces boring af. The kids stuff feels like a rehash from the first. Incredibles 1 had multiple characters that were memorable from the get-go, Incredibles 2 presents us with nothing of that and is content with bringing back familiar characters such as Edna Mode, which has no business on being in this movie i.e. the most shameless form of fan pandering. The score lifts multiple tracks straight from the original. Rick Dicker surprisingly emotional goodbye is the only genuinely effective attempt at emotion, which highlights how weak this was from a dramatic standpoint.

 

It's so heartbreakingly mediocre.

Edited July 15, 2018 by Goffe

[AniNate]

On a second watch, the way Evelyn so weakly goes down at the end is the real big problem for me. Felt like an interesting resolution wasn't a huge priority for Bird here. For how methodical her plan supposedly was, it should not have been so easy to defeat her as just removing the goggles and shooting a luckily-placed BB gun.

[Alpha]

Forgot to post my review of this after I saw it a couple weeks ago. For context, The Incredibles is one of my favorite films and is in serious competition for Pixar's crowning achievement alongside WALL-E and maybe Ratatouille. But I was disappointed to find out how mediocre Incredibles 2 was.

 

Wow, what a terrible political message. I went in basically expecting Winston Deavor to be the villain, and while the movie did subvert my expectations, it basically lets a hyper-ambitious, craven salesman off the hook. I don't know Brad Bird's views on great man theory, but after this and Tomorrowland, I'm starting to think there's something very creepy about his worldview.

 

The end of Tomorrowland brought us a moral that only the most gifted individuals that "haven't given up yet" will be given the task of creating a better, more utopian future. Here, we get a moral that only the most gifted individuals, literally gifted by superpowers, have the power to stop tyranny in the form of Evelyn / Screenslaver (whose dialogue is basically dressed up in the kind of Trumpian faux-populism that's made to sound dangerous but ends up coming off more reasonable than harrowing), and the fact they're propped up by rich, delusional capitalists with chipper slogans and blind admiration is even better. Syndrome and Evelyn seemed to have very similar intentions, but at least Syndrome was too much of a bloodthirsty, sociopathic creep to get anybody on his side. Evelyn is far more grounded that Winston, and there's no convincing answer to her reasoning that superheroes are a symbol of despair for a populace that has given up. All in all, the politics of this film just come off as creepily authoritarian and makes me miss when Bird satirized Cold War hysteria instead of literally living in it.

 

Jack-Jack's antics are cute and funny, and I was happy the kids got a bigger role here than they did in the last one. I was pleasantly surprised how much Dash's new voice actor really nailed down the old voice. I already outlined my main criticism of the villains, but I'm also disappointed that the film followed the Disney animation formula of introducing a twist antagonist. Can't we just have well-developed villains with clear motivations right from the get-go? It just slows down the second act.

 

The animation was definitely a big improvement, but one major criticism I have is for the Screenslaver fight sequences. OH MY GOD. It hasn't hurt this much to look at a film since Enter the Void. They could at least have made the strobe effect slower and more bearable, because it got to the point where I couldn't look at the screen.

 

Overall, kinda disappointed. It was funny and the action sequences that aren't likely to induce seizures were great, but bad, untimely political messaging and a bad villain just spoiled the affair for me. B-