The Incredibles 2

RATING: B

The first crime about this film is that we had to wait this long for it. No other Pixar movie was as tailor-made for a sequel as this one; and yet in that time three other Pixar movies got sequels (or prequels), plus two "threequels." Heck, as time begin to wear on, few movie sequels in general were as highly wanted and anticipated as this one. And yet it took fourteen years. And considering the time gap between the movies and what's happened to the superhero genre since then--plus just how good and groundbreaking the first one was--boy, did Brad Bird have his work cut out for him. 

It was for these very reasons that despite the original Incredibles being one of my favorite movies of all time, I tried to keep my expectations as tempered as I could. And as it turns out, that was probably a good idea. Cutting straight to the chase, The Incredibles 2 is a pretty good and fun movie. But it pales quite a bit in comparison to the original. Now strap in, because despite the fact that I did enjoy this movie, I'm about to spend quite a bit of time tearing it to shreds. 

Let's start with the plot. The first Incredibles had a great plot with an excellent villain. And that movie was a lot more nuanced and complex in general, throwing in a bit of clever social commentary; really, it was one of the most intelligent movies of its type. This one? Well... pretty much the entire plot of this movie is the Supers trying to make being super not illegal anymore. And that's about it. The rest of the film is just the family trying to juggle hero work and raising a family--a case in which the roles of the last movie are reversed for the first half or so of this one. That's not to say the plot is bad, because it isn't. It's just not up to par with its predecessor's plot, or even most of Pixar's better plots in general. 

Oh sure, there's a new villain in Screenslaver, who looked rather promising in the marketing. However, that villain is probably actually the biggest disappointment of this whole thing. Syndrome was excellent because he was a former fan-turned-enemy that Mr. Incredible inadvertently created--a concept which was rather new and different at the time--and he was also quite the tech genius. However, the Screenslaver's motivations are far less interesting and even a tad more cliched. And really, in the end the villain does not even feel actually as threatening--like they're actually someone to be feared that much. The best thing about the Screenslaver is one or two thought-provoking speeches it delivers--which unfortunately are never really expanded upon and actually have little to do with the villain's main plan. 

Another problem is the lighter tone of the movie. I'm more inclined to blame that on Disney, because they decided they have to give everything as light a tone as they can nowadays. But the first movie had a relatively darker tone and higher body count than most kids' movies. While that did make it a riskier watch for toddlers, that "relatively darker tone" was still part of what made the first one stand out from the crowd. This one feels like it's holding back a bit more, and the action sequences are toned down as well. The end of the first one involved the family fighting a gigantic rogue robot in a downtown metropolis in a finale that would've fit right with any other superhero movie. This movie's final act? Stakes definitely feel lower. The only thing that one feels is at stake at that point is the reputation of the Supers, because given how the rest of the movie has gone, one knows that no one else is in any danger at that point.

While those are the biggest core issues, there are some other minor things as well. Let's start with the opening of the film (which is an awesome opening, by the way). Remember the Underminer? That's right, this film literally picks up where the last one left off. He's ridiculously one-note, unfortunately--and is quite literally forgotten by the movie eventually. Also, a couple of the main characters both have character arcs that aren't always at their best in the first half. They improve over time, though. And finally, Jack-Jack is kind of overused this time around. It kind of makes sense in context, but he's still strictly comic relief at this point and as such should be used sparingly instead of being part of the action. But oh wait, I forgot, we have to make even the action as light-hearted as possible because here at Disney we have to avoid taking a dark tone whenever possible. (Infinity War is the rare exception to that current rule.) 

I've spent quite a bit of time kind of tearing this movie to shreds by now. Unfortunately, that's kind of the way it is with a lot of Disney-made movies nowadays. Even if I'm enjoying them, there are still way more noticeable issues that warrant discussion here. Case in point: I was one of the people who liked Star Wars: The Last Jedi a lot (more than this movie), and yet I still spent an unusual amount of time discussing flaws for a movie that I ultimately really liked. The Incredibles 2 is not that much different. To be clear once again, this is a movie that I did enjoy. But its flaws warrant more discussion than usual, due in part to the inevitable comparisons to the predecessor. 

There are still some pretty good action scenes. The opening is one of the best ones, and there are some other good ones throughout. My personal favorite is probably one where Violet brawls with a brainwashed superpowered person, in one of the few battles that doesn't feel like they held back much. Violet shines a bit more in action in this one in general compared to the first one, mainly because she's learned some more creative things to do with her force-fields, with often awesome results. Still, the others get their fair share of good moments as well. Frozone seems to have a little more screen time here, and it doesn't go to waste. And while I noted earlier that one source of comic relief was a little overused, this movie is still undeniably pretty funny. 

And really, it's just great to see these characters again after all this time. In general, they still are what you'd expect them to be. While the marketing kind of painted Elastigirl as the main focus this time around, that's really only the case for the first half. As with the first one, part of the main draw of this franchise is the family dynamic tying in with the superhero deal, and that is still indeed the case. The Incredibles are still The Incredibles, and as long as that remains true, this film still carries merit--even if elements of the plot and setting these characters are put into are not what they could be. 

So to sum up, this is a sequel that definitely is not up to the standards of the original. The characters are as good as ever, and anybody who loved the first one will be glad to see them again and enjoy their return. The deal is: the first movie had excellent characters put into an excellent superhero movie. This one has excellent characters put into an average superhero movie. I suppose that's kind of enough, and this will still probably still be a movie I return to now and again. But I have to admit, I couldn't completely shake the feeling of "...that's it?" when the credits started rolling.