Incredibles 2 Review

The one Pixar sequel that everyone has been begging for has finally arrived. It's hard to believe that it's been 14 years since "The Incredibles" was released in 2004. That 14 year difference is the biggest gap between Pixar sequels as we had 11 years between "Toy Story 2" and "Toy Story 3," 12 years between "Monsters, Inc." and "Monsters University," and 13 years between "Finding Nemo" and "Finding Dory." Pixar can throw out all the excuses in the world as to why they never did a sequel to "The Incredibles" until now, despite leaving the movie on a cliffhanger without resolving the issues they set up, but when push comes to shove, sequels just weren't Pixars thing until recently. Beginning with "Toy Story" in 1995 all the way to "Up" in 2009, the only sequel they had made was "Toy Story 2" in 1999, and that was initially intended to be a direct-to-video movie before they ultimately decided to throw it in theaters. Thus in 2010 a new era of Pixar began when they released "Toy Story 3." Their era of sequels. From 2010 to now, they've actually done more sequels than originals. The most baffling thing about that, though, is how in the heck we managed to have three "Cars" movies before getting a second "Incredibles" movie. But it is what it is and I'm glad they finally made restitution.

My thoughts on "The Incredibles" is simple. I love that movie. In fact, when I ranked my Pixar movies on this blog a while back, I listed that as my third favorite Pixar movie, behind only "Toy Story 3" and "Toy Story." I released my updated rankings on my personal Facebook page before going to see "Incredibles 2" and that ranking holds up for the original film. I still think it's the third best Pixar film. Given that we now have 20 Pixar films and 15 of them range from good to great, claiming "The Incredibles" as No. 3 on the list is extremely high praise. And yeah, I've been on the bandwagon for a long time that we need a sequel. I don't often demand sequels, but "The Incredibles" is the type of superhero film where you want to see more. There's so much more room to grow with this family dynamic, especially after learning Jack-Jack has powers. You want to see them as a crime fighting superhero team because we only got a taste of that in "The Incredibles" given that superheroes are illegal in this universe. Heck, the movie ends with them about to fight the Underminer, a battle that you want to see play out. And speaking of superheroes being illegal, that's the big issue that was left unresolved at the end of the movie. So what took them so long?

With all that said, despite having wanted this movie for such a long time, I found myself oddly unsatisfied when the trailers came out. I wanted to fanboy uncontrollably at the footage I saw and then go in with crazy, blind optimism that this was going to be the best thing ever. But every time I tried to get to that level of excitement, I realized that said excitement was forced and I eventually began to accept the fact that I had reservations about this sequel. The biggest issue for me came with the idea that Hollywood has become oversaturated with superhero films. "The Incredibles" came out in 2004, four years before the Marvel Cinematic Universe began in 2008 with "Iron Man" and one year before Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy began in 2005 with "Batman Begins." We had just recently experienced "X-Men" and "Spider-Man," so this modern boom of superhero movies was in its infancy, thus helping "The Incredibles" feel fresh. But now "Incredibles 2" comes out in a day where I've lost count of how many superhero movies we've had. How is Pixar going to make it feel relevant. What are they going to do to help it stand out from the crowd? Also, in picking up right where the first movie left off, how are they going to help it stand out from the original?

I wasn't sure the trailers to "Incredibles 2" helped me resolve any of these questions as I began to fear that this movie was 11 years too late. Had it come out in 2007, three years after the first movie, perhaps these questions wouldn't have been questions at all and I could've enjoyed it without having to overanalyze it after being super picky with my superhero films now that we've had so many. The answer to these questions after seeing it this past weekend and giving myself a few days to ponder over it is that "Incredibles 2" doesn't separate itself from the crowd, nor does it separate itself from "The Incredibles." But before you hyperventilate, let me quickly put you at ease. Turns out my concerns were a bit blown out of proportion as it didn't need to separate itself. It just needed to be a really good Incredibles movie by matching the tone and feel of the first movie, thus allowing the audience to have another fun adventure with the heroes that we all have grown to love over the last 14 years. On those terms specifically, what "Incredibles 2" pulled off was, well, dare I say... incredible? No, it's not as solid and refined as the original movie. But it didn't need to be. What we did get is a movie that feels like the natural successor to the original.

This past weekend, "Incredibles 2" opened to a whopping $182 million here in the United States alone. That opening weekend is the eighth largest opening weekend out of all movies, just ahead of "Captain America: Civil War," "Beauty and the Beast" and "Iron Man" and behind only three Avengers movies, two Star Wars movies, "Black Panther" and "Jurassic World." It obliterated the record for biggest opening for an animated movie, which was set by Pixar just two years ago with "Finding Dory" at $135 million. Given that animated movies typically have excellent staying power, the final total for "Incredibles 2" could go to infinite and beyond. "Finding Dory" translated that $135 million into $486 million total, meaning that $500 million for "Incredibles 2" now seems like the low bar for what it could earn. The major reason for me mentioning these facts in this review, outside the fact that I like numbers and wanted to share, is that a lot of you have already seen this movie. Thus I'm going to take a few liberties to talk about some plot points that are key to my thoughts on the movie. No, this won't be a spoiler review, but if you haven't seen the movie and you want to know nothing going in, then close this review and come back later so we can discuss openly.

In terms of said plot points, this movie picks up exactly where "The Incredibles" left off. If you forgot, Violet gets asked out on a date, then the Underminer shows up and the family gears up to go to battle. Insert credits. "Incredibles 2" first begins with a message from some key cast members talking about the difficulties of making an animated movie and thanking everyone for their patience with this sequel, then delivers a phenomenal animated short film after which the movie begins and we recap Violet getting asked out on a date and immediately jump into this fight with the Underminer, which was an absolute blast. Now I mentioned that the trailers didn't get me as excited as I wanted to be, but when I sat down in the theater, the excitement hit me and I was overcome with complete joy at the fact that I was finally watching "Incredibles 2." I appreciated the message from the cast, nearly bawled during that short, then the opening fight happens and I was immediately overcome with excitement while I watched this family team up to face this villain. Belated sequels to classics don't always work out, but in this instance I knew I was in good hands with Pixar as it was obvious that they finally came up with a sequel idea that everyone agreed on and worked hard to bring to us.

That high level of care and strong chemistry from the cast and crew is immediately felt from the very first scene and makes all the difference in the world. In fact, the whole movie feels like it was made at the same time as the original movie, but split into two movies with the second half being released 14 years later. It felt natural and seamless. I watched "The Incredibles" right before walking into "Incredibles 2" and that was a magical experience comparing the two like that. The two movies connect together perfectly as if they were meant as one big movie, which is a huge praise to the whole team behind this. As far as the plot goes following the big opening battle, we are quickly reminded that we are in an age where superheroes are illegal, thus the family goes back to living their quiet life, but relocated to a small hotel room for two weeks until they figure out their housing situations being that their house went boom at the end of the first movie. It's at this point that they are approached by Saul Goodman from "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul" and he has a plan to make superheroes legal again. This plan centers around Elastagirl being the city's vigilante, thus leaving Mr. Incredible stuck at home for the time being, raising the three kids on his own.

What I mean when I say they are approached by Saul Goodman is that they are approached by a character named Winston Deavor, who is voiced by Bob Odenkirk. If you've never seen "Breaking Bad" or "Better Call Saul," then the reference will be lost on you. But I found it extremely entertaining that Bob Odenkirk's character in "Incredibles 2" was almost to a "t" the exact same character he plays on "Breaking Bad." Saul Goodman in "Breaking Bad" is a bit of a sketchy character, but he's the type of guy with so much passion and enthusiasm that he's able to sell you on just about anything, thus when he comes to them with a perfect plan on how to make superheroes legal again, there's absolutely no question in the minds of our two parents as to exactly what they should do. And the idea that Elastagirl is front and center this time is much more than just a nod to feminism in 2018. It makes perfect sense to the plot as her elastic abilities and high IQ are exactly what the city needs, better so than Mr. Incredible's immense strength and overzealous personality. Thus we have what I call feminism done right. A strong female character leading our movie in a way that makes perfect sense to the plot rather than being forced in the name of attempted proggresivism.

At the same time, though, the movie doesn't throw shade at all on Mr. Incredible himself. It's not a situation where they are saying that girls are awesome and guys suck. Both partners have a key role to play in the movie. Elastagirl doesn't do what she does until she has the support from her husband. Mr. Incredible being at home also puts him out of his comfort zone, allowing a ton of room for progression as he has no idea how to raise the kids, especially not this new super baby in Jack-Jack, who has all of these super powerful abilities with zero control. Thus this bit of role reversal helps the family grow closer together as Elastagirl learns the importance of using their abilities instead of hiding out the whole time while Mr. Incredible learns how to stay at home and be a dad. When push comes to shove, the thing that separates "The Incredibles" from the rest of the superhero movies is the family dynamic and that is stronger than ever in "Incredibles 2." In fact, as fun as it was to see Elastagirl out fighting crime and saving the day, I was actually more drawn to Mr. Incredible's moments at home as he was trying to help Violet with her boy problems, Dash with his math homework, and raising Jack-Jack, who completely steals this movie with his untamed baby powers.

On that note is where my biggest complaints come in. While the family dynamic is powerful and Jack-Jack made me bust out in laughter at every turn, the superhero aspect of the movie left a little to be desired. I think this is a situation where they had their hands tied a bit and did the best with what they could, but the underlying issue was unavoidable. I'm mainly talking about the vigilante story arc. Superheroes being illegal and them trying to figure out how to overcome that. In defense of "The Incredibles," setting up that story arc in 2004 was still fairly fresh. That story arc hadn't been beaten to a pulp yet by showing up again and again and again. It wasn't completely new, but in the 14 years since, just about every superhero story, whether on TV or on film, faces that quandary of what to do when the city or the government gets weary about what to do with a superhero wandering the streets, seemingly living above the law in fighting crime. I realize it's necessary, but I'm kinda done with that story arc. And "Incredibles 2" didn't handle it very well at all. In fact, they almost felt uncomfortable with it as they resolved it way too easily. Just a few moments with Elastagirl saving the day and suddenly 15 years of disagreement solved as everyone's on board with superheroes.

The other thing I have to bring up is the villain. I tread very lightly here, but what they do is they go the route of the mysterious villain with an ominous voice and cool-looking outfit, while attempting to play the bait-and-switch game with us. Instead of spending time building up a well thought out villain, like with Syndrome in "The Incredibles," they instead spend half of the movie making the audience guess who is the person behind the mask. This guessing game can be fun, but this is what I nit-pick at with "Arrow" and "The Flash" all the time. I'd much rather know who the villain is from day one instead of spending the whole season guessing who it is. Both TV shows go back and forth between the two philosophies and when I look back at which villains ended up being best, almost without fail it's the villains who had more time to progress as characters rather than the villains whose true identity was hidden for some time. Thus we have this same case with this franchise. The first villain was given time to progress while this second villain was hidden. And I knew exactly who it was going to be, which made the reveal not as exciting as it could've been. That said, I did buy into the motivations of said villain, but we can talk about that in private later rather than publicly on this blog.

These final two issues is what I was worried about most going in and I do think I would've had less problems with them 11 years ago than I do know, but ultimately I was still left pleased after leaving this movie as said issues were more of major nitpicks than serious problems that bogged the movie down. Thus the movie ended up being remarkably similar to a number of MCU films that are still highly entertaining despite underlying issues. I mean, Marvel has a habit of introducing underwhelming villains with cliche motivations, yet still manage to make the movie as a whole highly entertaining, thus dispelling the idea that a movie is only as good as your villain. And the vigilante story arc? Yeah, that's all of "Captain America: Civil War" and I had the exact same nitpicks with that movie, yet still managed to be thoroughly entertained with everything happening around it. I'd say putting "Incredibles 2" on the same level as "Civil War" is pretty good company, wouldn't you? Where does "Incredibles 2" place in my Pixar rankings? I have no idea. I don't think it's top five, but that's near impossible to break into at this point. But I do think it's somewhere in the top 10, which at this point is a huge compliment given Pixar's filmography. I'm giving "Incredibles 2" a 9/10.