Die Unglaublichen 2

Have always been a big fan of Pixar, liking to loving pretty much all their short films (particularly 'Presto', 'One Man Band', 'Geri's Game', 'Piper' and 'Knick Knack'). Also like to love a vast majority of their feature films, my favourites being the 'Toy Story' films, 'Up', 'Coco' and 'Inside Out' and my least favourites being the 'Cars' sequels and 'The Good Dinosaur'.

While not one of my favourite Pixar films, 'The Incredibles' is still a very, very good film that has gone even higher in my estimations after a well overdue re-watch to get myself prepared for 'Incredibles 2', fantastically animated, exciting, funny, emotionally investable and ground-breaking with great characters. Expectations were high for its long awaited sequel fourteen years on, and while it is not as good a film, and what could and should have been super and incredible wasn't quite, on the most part 'Incredibles 2' was worth the wait.

'Incredibles 2' does lack 'The Incredibles' originality (not much new here) and its emotional impact and character development is also not as good, the latter particularly is noticeably thinner (Bob for example was more complex before). It was a little too long for a story as slight as it was, would have trimmed it by 15-20 minutes and tightened the first act's pacing with it taking a bit too much time to get going.

Like others, among my biggest problems were to do with the villain. The villain was forgettable (one of Pixar's weakest easily), the twist concerning their identity that was too obvious too soon. Found their plan convoluted, that when explained made me want a re-wind button which was not possible in the cinema, and the motivation was pretty weak and extreme, took a while for me to get my head round. While the characters are fun, it did feel like there were too many, not sure whether it needed that many superheroes that aren't given enough to do other than in the climax.

However, it may sound like 'Incredibles 2' was a bad film. It wasn't. Actually enjoyed it a good deal. The animation is fantastic, smooth, vibrant in colour and meticulous in background detail, some very striking details, a richly immersive setting and the characters are well designed. Michael Giacchino's score gets one in a rousing mood while also being dynamic with the action. The action is superbly animated and thrilling with real suspense and excitement.

Writing has many moments of humour that provides a lot of laughs (Jack Jack steals the show here, especially with his powers and his fight with the racoon, with some nice lines later from Edna), moments that probe thought and drama that's relatable and never too sentimental (if not as poignant as one would like). The story does grip, more so in the Elastigirl story that really held my attention before the villain reveal underwhelmed. The family drama stuff is also very prominent, and while it is repetitive at times and there could have been less of it the best moments are very funny and it is very easy to relate to the dilemmas the characters face. Pacing mostly excites when things get going.

Character development is nowhere near as strong here and it would have benefitted from less characters and more done with the existing characters and more thought with the villain and their plan/motivations, but the characters are mostly fun with the highlight being Jack Jack. The voice acting is terrific, especially from Holly Hunter, Craig T Nelson and Samuel L Jackson. Brad Bird is a lot of fun in Edna's small role and Catherine Keener, Bob Odenkirk and Jonathan Banks are good additions.

Overall, very enjoyable but wanted to like it much more. 7/10 Bethany Cox

This movie is fantastic, loved the story and the characters. Where this movie loses points is in three separate continuous sequences of intense flashing. My sister is epileptic, and with no warnings we weren't prepared for any of it. She ended up seizing after the first sequence, and we had to cover her eyes for the their two. If you or any family members are sensitive to this sort of thing, AVOID THIS MOVIE.

I cannot believe it has been 14 years since The Incredibles came out. The gap between sequels seems to be getting longer, but the director, Brad Bird, said he wanted to wait until he had the perfect story. There's even a clip before the film starts where actors, Craig T. Nelson, Samuel L. Jackson, and Holly Hunter tell us it will be "well worth the wait"--and they were right!

Though 14 years later, the film takes place minutes later. The first film ends with the Parr family having to fight the Miner who pops up out of the school parking lot, just after Violet gets a date with Tony. The sequel starts with that fight and we see how it backfires as the Parr family get arrested for destroying part of the city and because superheroes are still illegal. Enter our new characters, siblings Winston and Evelyn Deaver, who both want to help superheroes step back into the light, but they believe the way to do that is with Elastigirl. Therefore, our sequel twist is that Mr. Incredible becomes a stay-at-home dad having to babysit Jack-Jack and learning of his dozens of powers, teaching Dash "new math", and inserting his foot into his mouth when he tries to help Violet with her crush--all while Elastigirl is improving superhero relations.

Personally, I thought the movie was predictable but perfect. I loved it for its simplistic plot that was not hard to figure out. I knew right away who the "villain" was and what their motivation was; however, I did not know exactly how the climax would occur, so I was still very much engaged. Not to mention there was enough character development and funny scenes to space out the predictable plot arch.

Often times animated films are more for the adults who are taking the kids, then for the kids themselves. Most kids will not understand half the references, but will still enjoy the overall concept. At the same time, this film comes out when the kids who saw the first are now adults, possibly with kids of their own. Therefore, this film is a great blend of adult and child humor. I found it hilarious, and as a teacher, I particularly loved when Mr. Incredible stays up all night reading Dash's "new math" textbook so he can teach him new math, which was what it was called in the 60s (the time period this film alludes to) and is a shout out to our modern common core confusion.

What I really love about this film is that there is even more Frozone and Jack-Jack, which brings me to my all-time favorite scenes--learning of Jack-Jack's powers, particularly when Violet and Dash call Uncle Frozone over because their dad is going insane from sleep-deprivation and trying to keep up with Jack-Jack. I lost track of how many powers he has and all I will say on the matter is that the best scene in the whole film is when Jack-Jack fights the raccoon.

If you want a light-hearted comedy with some fun action sequences then this film is for you. If you loved the first one then you will love the second one. If you have not seen the first one, what's wrong with you?

'Incredibles 2' was probably the most anticipated movie of the year; it's hard to believe it's made 14 years since the first original. So obviously everyone was more than ready for this.

The film does come through when it comes to entertaining action and comedy, with Jack-Jack, Bob, and Edna providing most of the biggest laughs. The plot is interesting, because we've got to know what happened to the Parr family. As far as the supervillain mystery, it's acceptable and somewhat entertaining, but a bit predictable and generic. The final criticism I have is that Edna definitely deserved more screen time.

That being said, it is still an entertaining movie and not at all "painful" to watch.

In conclusion, 'Incredibles 2' is funny, exciting, and really worth a viewing.

Following the superb 2004 original, the family of animated superheroes are back. This time, they are struggling to regain a good reputation for superheroes (ostracized due to the collateral damage of their heroics) while also getting caught up in fighting a scheme against Screenslaver, a villain who hypnotizes victims with TV screen images.

The idea of Screenslaver seems clever and almost touches on the modern world's collective obsession with technical devices and other forms of media. It doesn't quite get to the heart of the matter and misses an opportunity to be a clever critique of our current times. The theme even seems to be jumbled and incoherent at times.

But overall, the film is saved by funny characters and doing what action-filled, comical, Hollywood blockbusters set out to do: be entertaining. It also succeeds in adding a twist to the genre by having female characters in the centre of hero/villain conflicts. A rather smart move considering the current dynamic in the film industry. - dbamateurcritic