The Incredibles II Review

The Incredibles II is a movie people were anticipating for a long time. Initially, Brad Bird stated that a sequel to The Incredibles wasn’t gonna happen, as he “doesn’t do sequels” and “the movie ended fine”. But demand lingered for 9 years, until Pixar finally announced plans for one at the end of 2013. By the time the movie was slated for 2018, the time lapse had been 14 years. Even the opening to the movie had several of the voices, as well as Bird, thanking everyone for being patient. The question is, though, if that patience was warranted.

The Incredibles II takes place right after its predecessor, kicking off with the battle the original film had teased at the end. The Parr family, now a superhero team, take on Metro City’s newest threat as effectively as you’d expect, yet it doesn’t impress the police and mayor enough to convince them that supers should become legal again. It does, however, garner the attention of billionaire siblings Winston and Evelyn Deavor, who do wish to make supers legal again, so they hire Helen Parr, aka Elastigirl, to moonlight hero work while Bob Parr, or Mr. Incredible, takes on the stay-at-home-parenting role in their new mansion. Complicating matters is a super-villain desperate to mess everything up, as well as Bob’s frustrations over not connecting with his angsty daughter Violet, his mathematically-challenged son Dash and his newly-super-powered baby Jack-Jack. By the time the real threat comes to a head, it’s clear that the Parrs will have to team-up again to save the day.

Right away, it’s obvious The Incredibles II will be a fun time. Past Pixar sequels not part of the Toy Story franchise, with the exception of Finding Dory, have tended to suffer in quality, but The Incredibles II is pure joy. Everything from the witty banter between the Parrs, to the slick action, to even the retro-future vibe aesthetic, is present from the first movie, except dialled up to 11. Brad Bird clearly feels comfortable enough in this world to return, and his passion and care shows.

Musically, the same can be said too. Michael Giacchino returns, and his jazz-orchestral style underscores the film’s runtime. You can’t have a movie about the Parrs without John Barry-inspired tracks, and I trust no one but Giacchino to pull that off. Especially since the original film had my favourite of Giacchino’s compositions in his short career as a film composer. (And Giacchino’s had quite the career!)

The visual style also returns. Bird’s influences here are James Bond, Mission Impossible and futurist sci-fi, and all three are present. Even the character designs, which look straight from a traditionally-animated film, fit at home, with the advancements in technology allowing for upgrades in detail. My only complaint is that Bird’s team haven’t mastered the art of human feet. They show up in only a few shots, true, but they don’t translate well to CGI.

But that’s okay, because the movie compensates with its action set-pieces. There’s the opening that reorients fans from the first movie, ending, obviously, on a downer. Then there’s the monorail chase, arguably the most intense part of the movie, a close-quarters fight that dizzies the audience, and a climactic battle on-par with the Omnidroid fight from the first film. And let’s not forget when Jack-Jack first discovers his powers. I know the original movie hinted at his capabilities in the finale, but they blossom here and it’s great.

The voice work is top-notch. Everyone reprises their roles, with one exception, and they feel more at home this time around. Special shout-outs to Bob Odenkirk and Catherine Keener as Winston and Evelyn respectively, as they’re easily the stand-out roles. My only complaint is Dash’s replacement: Huck Milner. I know Spencer Fox couldn’t return for obvious reasons, he’s too old, but Milner never doesn’t feel like an imitation.

It’s easy to think the movie’s on-par with the first in every way. Sadly, while a lot of fun, it does feel like a part-2 to a great first entry. The Incredibles was dense, juggling many themes, but it had flow and sailed to the end without hiccups. The Incredibles II tries to do the same with several plot threads, but it’s also much less graceful in its cohesion. It doesn’t end up mattering, but it’s noticeable.

The movie also has a downgraded villain compared to its predecessor. Syndrome was silly, but he had layers and a connection to Mr. Incredible. Screenslaver, while good, lacks that immediate oomph. The film tries connecting him to Elastigirl, and the Mandarin-style plot-twist works better than it did in Iron Man 3, but he’s no match for Syndrome and his ultimate reveal is a little too obvious. That said, he gets an intense fight involving strobe lighting halfway through the movie, so props for being different.

It’s hard to fault The Incredibles II for its shortcomings. Even had it been a tighter film with a villain equal to Syndrome, I doubt it’d have met expectations. The Incredibles was one of Pixar’s best movies in their heyday, and even now it holds up incredibly, so disappointment was inevitable. That this movie manages to be a worthy follow-up at all is testament to how much time and effort went into it. I applaud Pixar for doing that.

Also, the short before the film, “Bao”, was heartbreaking and charming, so kudos for that.