Les Incroyable 2

Having grown up in the 2000s and being an advid fan of animation and superheroes, I'd be lying if I told you that I wasn't entranced by Disney Pixar's Incredibles from 2004. Fast forward fourteen years and I found myself sitting in a movie theatre with a bunch of other twenty year olds excitedly waiting to watch its sequel. But was Incredibles 2 able to reach the high bar set by its predecessor?

I'd personally say yes. This movie was an incredible success!

I just love how Incredibles is able to expertly mix superhero action with the struggles faced by your average family. When they're not fighting crime, the members of the Parr family find themselves dealing with basic human predicaments, like trying to raise a baby and figuring out how to do math homework. These two genres may not seem compatible on paper, but Incredibles is just able to make it work. This results in Incredibles being a truly unique feature.

Of course originality alone isn't enough to make a film great, especially if the writers are unable to compose a comprehensible story for their film. Thankfully, the plot of Incredibles 2 was able to exceed the basic fundamental requirements of storytelling, especially for a superhero film. Yes, the plot is somewhat predictable and it is honestly quite simplistic at its core. Nonetheless, the story is executed quite well, and there are relatively no plot holes present in the movie. Although the story is fine, what I found to be a major highlight of the film would definitely be the characters, specifically the protagonists.

Each of the main characters added their own little flair to the movie. Helen takes the spotlight for a decent portion of the film, and viewers got to see her awesome crime fighting abilities as Elastigirl. Violet was pretty amazing in this movie. She went through development as a person, as a superhero, and had some pretty hilarious moments like when she squirted water out of her nose. Dash also showed some character growth in the film and he ended up being an enjoyable presence. When it comes to Bob, I do wish that the creators would have showed off his prowess as Mr. Incredible a bit more in the film. But since he got some enjoyable scenes as a stressed dad trying to take care of his children and was the primary focus of the first movie, it didn't bother me too much.

The biggest surprise for me ended up being how great I found the Jack-Jack scenes to be. I couldn't believe how entertained I was by the antics of a baby in a movie, and he actually wound up being one of the most memorable parts of the film for me. Returning characters like Frozone and Edna maintained their charm from the previous movie, and some of the new characters ended up being pretty decent as well.

I simply can't finish this review without talking about the breathtaking aesthetics of the film. The animators really outdid themselves with the movie's technical aspects. Expressions, movements, and scenery were impressively well animated, and the visuals have set a new standard for animated movies. Of course, this is to be expected. The creators did have a solid fourteen years to make this film as spectacular as possible you know.

Overall, I was genuinely satisfied with Incredibles 2. It maintained the quality of the first film and even surpassed it in some aspects. Pixar did a lot of things right with this movie. And if you're unsure of whether or not to watch it because "it's for kids," I would wholeheartedly recommend giving this movie a shot. I doubt that you'll be dissapointed by it. It is a pretty incredible movie after all.

Oh boy was this film a disappointment and I dreaded this review but I will as usual at least try and look at the good first.

Technically The Averagables er...uh...well I mean The Incredibles 2 is technically a slicker than the original tech wise but that's about it.

If you haven't seen the original this is probably a wow of a film, but I had seen the original.

But it just is not in the same league as the original or for that matter any Pixar film.

Harsh words? Not really, the big problem is that this is the same film as the original except they swap the parents places and replace the baby sitter for a Racoon.

WOWEE!

I remember the DVD extras for the original where Brad Bird made it clear that he would absolutely, positively, definitely not make a sequel unless he had a good enough story to warrant it that it had something new to say.

Well that has gone out the window, as its just the same story again.

The wrist watch test: I was part way through this film and I'll be honest I started checking my watch for the time, why?

Because I was BORED!

The final bit of WHY DID THEY BOTHER is that this film cost 200 million just to make, HOW?

If it was new story wise I could understand but Its the same film and most of the same 3D resources could have been re-used, where did the money go?

Not on the story or script that's for sure.

So is it a bad film?

NO it is not bad it is an average film that cost 200 million to make.

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

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

There is much to like here and not much that is outright wrong or bad. It's funny, fast paced, clever and overall works quite well. However there is an ever present feeling that the first one was better.. Maybe it's cause the plot is maybe a bit too predictable and cartoonish(yeah it IS a cartoon, but still..) or that the wait between the first and this one was so long and I expected something more? It's still good, just not great!