I like The Incredibles quite a bit, but I'm not a huge fan like many people. Going into Incredibles 2 I was excited, however I think too many years had gone by since the first to have me super hyped. That all changed as soon as the film started, and I was hooked from start to finish.
This film takes place right at the end of the original with the family trying to take down the underminer. When that doesn't go as planned, heroes are once again frowned upon by society. The owner of a large telecommunications company named Winston Deavor wants to put heroes back into a positive light and has Elastigirl begin doing missions again, while Mr. Incredible stays home to take care of the kids. This leads to a new threat that will need the whole family and more to take down.
Most of the voice cast is back from the first film and once again do a fantastic job. Craig T. Nelson is back as Bob/Mr. Incredible and has the perfect voice for the character. This film allows us to see a more vulnerable and jealous side of Mr. Incredible, and watching him struggle through very normal parent things is hilarious. Holly Hunter once again lends her voice to Helen/Elastigirl, and her character is really the star of the show for a lot of this film. She is even tougher than before and the conflict between morally right and legally right make for some very interesting moments throughout. This film gives us a bit more Frozone voiced by Samuel L Jackson and that was a huge highlight, and the way he brings his character to life through just his voice is incredible. Frozone was one of the best parts of the first film and he's in this even more so that was a huge plus. Other important characters were Winston Deavor of course, voiced by Bob Odenkirk quite well, Violet once again voiced by Sarah Vowell, Dash now voiced by Huck Milner, and Winston's sister Evelyn voiced by Catherine Keener. Also I didn't know this until now but director Brad Bird provides the voice for Edna Mode and I find that absolutely hilarious.
Now obviously a good voice cast is in no way enough to create a great animated film. It requires impressive visuals, a compelling story, and strong direction. This film has all of those. The film managed to balance many different tones and did so incredibly. There are more that a few moments that had me audibly laughing like an idiot, which were then followed with scenes that had a surprising level of intensity, one to the point where I was almost falling off of the edge of my seat. There are also plenty of heartfelt moments to put a smile on your face. Oh, and did I mention that the action sequences are great? Because they sure are. The animation is also stepped up this time around. While the animation team kept the look of the first film quite well, they managed to effectively update it to look all around better. The characters look very similar to how they did before, but everything is just given a higher level of detail. Brad Bird's writing and direction were both great, balancing the many different tones effectively and moving the film along at a very quick and steady pace. Lastly I want to comment on the music. Michael Giaccino is growing into one of my favourite composers and this just adds to that. His music makes this film and its predecessor both feel like superhero movies, but also their own thing. It suits the superhero genre beautifully but distances itself from being too similar to anything else.
I really loved this film, and it is undoubtedly a highlight of the year for me. Everything comes together perfectly into a finished product that I found built very well on its predecessor. A must watch for sure.
Rating: 4.5/5
Written by Matt McKenzie
This film takes place right at the end of the original with the family trying to take down the underminer. When that doesn't go as planned, heroes are once again frowned upon by society. The owner of a large telecommunications company named Winston Deavor wants to put heroes back into a positive light and has Elastigirl begin doing missions again, while Mr. Incredible stays home to take care of the kids. This leads to a new threat that will need the whole family and more to take down.
Most of the voice cast is back from the first film and once again do a fantastic job. Craig T. Nelson is back as Bob/Mr. Incredible and has the perfect voice for the character. This film allows us to see a more vulnerable and jealous side of Mr. Incredible, and watching him struggle through very normal parent things is hilarious. Holly Hunter once again lends her voice to Helen/Elastigirl, and her character is really the star of the show for a lot of this film. She is even tougher than before and the conflict between morally right and legally right make for some very interesting moments throughout. This film gives us a bit more Frozone voiced by Samuel L Jackson and that was a huge highlight, and the way he brings his character to life through just his voice is incredible. Frozone was one of the best parts of the first film and he's in this even more so that was a huge plus. Other important characters were Winston Deavor of course, voiced by Bob Odenkirk quite well, Violet once again voiced by Sarah Vowell, Dash now voiced by Huck Milner, and Winston's sister Evelyn voiced by Catherine Keener. Also I didn't know this until now but director Brad Bird provides the voice for Edna Mode and I find that absolutely hilarious.
Now obviously a good voice cast is in no way enough to create a great animated film. It requires impressive visuals, a compelling story, and strong direction. This film has all of those. The film managed to balance many different tones and did so incredibly. There are more that a few moments that had me audibly laughing like an idiot, which were then followed with scenes that had a surprising level of intensity, one to the point where I was almost falling off of the edge of my seat. There are also plenty of heartfelt moments to put a smile on your face. Oh, and did I mention that the action sequences are great? Because they sure are. The animation is also stepped up this time around. While the animation team kept the look of the first film quite well, they managed to effectively update it to look all around better. The characters look very similar to how they did before, but everything is just given a higher level of detail. Brad Bird's writing and direction were both great, balancing the many different tones effectively and moving the film along at a very quick and steady pace. Lastly I want to comment on the music. Michael Giaccino is growing into one of my favourite composers and this just adds to that. His music makes this film and its predecessor both feel like superhero movies, but also their own thing. It suits the superhero genre beautifully but distances itself from being too similar to anything else.
I really loved this film, and it is undoubtedly a highlight of the year for me. Everything comes together perfectly into a finished product that I found built very well on its predecessor. A must watch for sure.
Rating: 4.5/5
Written by Matt McKenzie
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