Incredibles 2: The Views And Opinions Of This Review Do Not Necessarily Reflect Those Of The General Public

The Incredibles came out 14 years ago. Fourteen. Doesn't feel that long ago, does it? Fourteen years ago I was 16 years old, still young enough to enjoy animated films, but felt old enough to have outgrown them. My twenties would teach me that I'd never be too old for cartoons. I remember we all went as a family to see the movie because Pixar was the best thing in animation (much hasn't changed, but their resume was prefect-- this was before Cars). After watching the film I remember stepping out of the theater and just feeling... underwhelmed. It was the first time I'd been disappointed by a Pixar movie and I seemed to be the only one. Everywhere I went people were talking about how much they loved The Incredibles and critics were praising it as Pixar's best film ever even though this was after two Toy Story movies, Monster's INC., and Finding Nemo. I thought I was crazy. The Incredibles didn't hold a candle to these movies. And it's not like like I hated it either-- I was just underwhelmed. It was the first time I'd ever felt... bored... during a Pixar movie. And honestly, that was the last time I saw it. I've seen nearly every Pixar movie more than once (including Cars), but I've only watched The Incredibles that one time. So, here comes the sequel a decade and a half later and the reviews are just as praising of this one as they were the first film. Pixar has been on a TEAR lately, so I was excited to see it. They had to have fixed the faults of the first movie and with their track record what it's been lately-- it's gotta be good, right?

So, I obviously didn't remember a lot from the first film because I had some questions about this one. It starts a few months after the events of the first film and superheroes are illegal. However, our Incredible family pop up to stop a villain from robbing a bank and tearing up the city. But, the city gets torn up anyhow because of the destruction from the fight. Enter Winston Deavor and his sister Evelyn, the heads of a gigantic telecommunications company, DevTech, who are ready to put superheroes back on the map and show the world just how much good they accomplish. They select Elastagirl to be the face of this venture, much to the chagrin of Mr. Incredible. He feels it's his duty to be the leader and head of the household, but after discussing this with his wife, relents and she becomes the breadwinner, while he stays home to take care of the kids. And that's what 75% of the movie is. She's out fighting crime and being the face for all superhero-kind, and he's at home trying to learn new math and take care of the baby. Things I didn't remember about this world-- that superheroes were illegal to begin with, that it's set in some sort of cross between our time and the 50s (seriously almost all the set pieces, cars, TVs, radios are all 50s... yet they have cell phones and advanced technology and all that), and that the baby, Jack Jack has powers. I remember him having powers, yet everyone seems to be shocked that he does, including his parents. Did he not have powers in the first one, people?!

The first Incredibles movie, to me, felt too slow moving in the first half. Even as a sixteen year old it didn't grab my attention the way most Pixar and most animated movies do. But then, I thought, it probably was because I was a sixteen year old and was nearing the height of my douchery as a human being. However, now, as a thirty year old man, I felt the same way about Incredibles 2. I was bored. Several times. My fiancé was bored. Several times. There was a packed theater of children and the three or four next to us, when there weren't bright colors or action sequences... they looked bored. Several times. I don't know how to explain it because it's a decent story. One that normally wouldn't bore me. And I'm not the type of moviegoer who needs constant action and punch punch pow. But for some reason the Incredibles movies just don't speak to me. And just like the first film, from what I can remember, once we get over that first half hump and the real fun begins, I got a little bit more into the movie. The back nine of both Incredibles movies are fun, funny, and action-packed and very, very enjoyable, but the first half, to me, just feel lifeless. They're supposed to be showing the monotony of working a dead end job or the difficulties of staying home and raising a family when there are other desires tugging at your mind. But these scenes really do feel monotonous. There's hardly any humor or heart or fun to be had and as an adult I was fighting boredom, I can't imagine what that must be like for a child. So, once again, Incredibles 2 didn't really speak to me.

These movies also don't feel like Pixar movies to me. We have an established expectation from Pixar films. They have to be original (even the stories of its sequels), it has to have vibrant characters, it has to look better than any animated film around it, it has to be fun, it has to be funny, and it most likely is going to make you cry buckets. Incredibles 2 only has some of this stuff and the stuff it lacks feels like what most non-Pixar movies shoot for. First of all, it's gorgeous. The animation in these films are one-upping the last one with each entry. I marvel (ha!) at the effects of the live action superhero movies, but watching even crazier superheros do their animated thing is somehow even cooler. And it is a lot of fun in the second half, most of which comes from the storyline of Elastagirl trying to figure out who this new super villain is who is about to take over the world. And then, of course, the climactic fight at the end. But as far as characters go-- I didn't feel like there was much in the way of further development. It felt like this movie assumed you knew these people if you'd watched the first movie and that's all you needed to know. No more faults or traits needed to be explored in this one and you should just accept them because you should know them. And I didn't. Especially the kids. Violet is a teenager anxious about a date. Dash needs help with math. That's pretty much all you get in the way of character. And since there is hardly any character development, we don't get close to these characters, and there's no room for that Pixar heart we desire when we attend one of their films. I didn't expect Incredibles 2 to make me weep my guts up like Coco or Inside Out, but the creators at Pixar are so clever with their writing, I'm on tear-alert when I purchase a ticket. However, this time I was left face-dry. And! Speaking of clever writing-- the twist-- or like the reveal of the villain-- saw it coming a mile away. That's not the Pixar I expect. Incredibles 2 is more akin to Despicable Me 2 than it is to the quality of movies they're known for making.

I don't know. It's not a popular opinion to state that I'm just not a fan of the Incredibles films. This is the one contrarian review you're going to see and as a budding critic of film, my job is to guide my readers to see or not see a movie. This time I feel like my personal feelings, while valid, somehow aren't going to be yours. I'm going to nudge you in the direction of maybe wait until RedBox, but still somehow I feel like that's the wrong decision. I could tell you that if you had kids to definitely take them to see it, but now I feel like I'm doing a disservice to your children who will, most likely, be bored for a good portion of the beginning of the film. So, here's what I can say to you to decide (which, chances are you already know if you want to see this movie anyway without my input)-- to me, Incredibles 2 is a damned mirror image of the first one. Slow to start, gets exciting by the end. So, if you tolerated/liked/loved the first film, then chances are you will tolerate/like/love this one. And that's the best I can do with what they've given me.

D+