Incredibles 2

Pixar animated sequels have a difficult time to match the quality of their predecessors for a number of reasons (though there are a few exceptions). The writing can be toned down for its demographic (affecting the storytelling in some manner), new added characters could be stale, and it could risk loosing its magic and charm that its original audience fell in love with in the first place. Now all of these doesn't make most of Pixars followup entries terrible (with a few exceptions) but its worth pointing out. This brings us to Incredibles 2, a long awaited sequel to the 2004 predecessor that can only have been done well by its writer and director Brad Bird, who mentioned he would only work on it if he felt its quality could be a consistent followup. The marketing for this was somewhat minimal in showing only little pieces of the story and gave a bit of an idea on the next step in the life of this family. The critical reception was mainly positive and I rewatched the 2004 classic (which is the best Fantastic 4 flick so far) to see how it aged while getting a refresher on the story. I entered the auditorium ready to see if the 14 year wait was worth it and left it satisfied by the experience (though I'm more excited for Pixar to handle new original projects by this point).

Bao: The Pixar short that comes after the previews but before Incredibles 2 starts is an odd but touching little story that will likely reach too close to home for the majority of its audiences. The relationship being conveyed between mother and the son is pretty heartfelt and having it be told with minimal to no dialog is great visual storytelling. The weird element that kinda took me out of it a few moments are the eyes, notably how they go from classic calm respectful Chinese eyes to panicked (or surprised) wide eyed Pixar Disney types. It's a bizarre choice that was a little bizarre for my liking but it's sort of to be expected by the studio so it's only a minor nitpick. The level of detail being present is beautiful to look at in how talented the animators are in making some aspects very realistic.

Thoughts on Incredibles (2004): Taking place in the fictional 1960s (I think) where superheroes have been outlawed for the property damage and lawsuits they caused during their time, the story follows a well-intended father in a midlife crisis and rocky marriage who gets the chance to return to his previous life, which finds him coming across a new nemesis in the process. The writing here is excellent in how the conversations explores the political nature surrounding the dangerous work of that life. The family is displayed well from parents with a not so healthy marriage to their kids who want to accomplish a goal in their personal lives while having to deal with their own powers. The dynamic is realistic in the conversations the parents (mostly the mom) have with them. The villain was excellent (unintentionally predicting how fanbases currently are), action was great, and the story was pretty solid. It's also funny keeping track of how many people are killed by two of the family members with the impact of their abilities (I think at most 15-20). A few negatives include how the animation for 2004 hasn't aged well (but is still impressive for the time) and how underwritten the son and daughter are. ⭑⭑⭑⭑1/2

Plot: Starting immediately after its predecessor left off, the fallout from the opening battle leads the family to splitting up again with matriarch working with a corporate tycoon/super fan to regain the public's trust in supers while the patriarch becomes the stay at home parent in her absence. Basically it's a role reversal from before as it continues the effort to legalize that hero work. What helps this sequel is that it could have easily done the "remember this reference" type of script (like other shallow entries would do) but instead opted to move forward with new creative ways to entertain. There's a balanced blend of adult writing with the main storyline and the family level of fun with the parenting subplot that works to benefit the audience experience. It's possible some might feel it jarring to go back and forth between the differing tones, settings, and minor pacing issues but thankfully the script and editing makes it fairly seamless.

However, there's one major drawback that's kind of a reflection of Pixar's recent work: a sudden need to have a "surprise twist" villain that no one could see coming. It fails here not only because of ridiculously predictable it is, but how the plan wasn't really thought out and was lackluster in comparison to the rest of the quality of everything else. When the character appears on screen, you can immediately figure it out from the first scene they are in. Once it's revealed, they drag the momentum down with their dull personality. It's understandable that Pixar would try this route considering they've done it before in Coco, but they should take a break from that "twist" cliche.

Regaining the public trust arc: In exploring this area further, there are a lot of elements that work to give great mentions for. With the quality of Pixar animation stronger than it was back in 2004, there are sequences involving our heroine that are fun to watch such as chasing a train on her motorcycle, attempting to capture the antagonist, and using her powers such as maneuvering through the city rooftops and a helicopter rescue. The conversations that she has concerning the aforementioned problem doesn't feel ignored and serves its purpose. Meeting other minor heroes helps to expand their world a bit and adds to the action in the last third. One issue here is how simplified the political problem gets in the third act and the writing loses some of its steam due to the climax as well as the lackluster antagonist scheme.

Stay at home parent: What helps this Pixar flick standout out from the enormous genre that has been rising in popularity since 2008 is demonstrating that their characters personal lives are just as important. This arc does a great job at showing how tiresome but heroic it can be raising children. However, with the baby now involved, the treatment of the kids here can be akin to that of those from the Despicable Me franchise where the youngest is the best in terms of quality/entertainment value, the middle gets little to nothing to deal with (insert attempts at comic relief), and the oldest has a somewhat cliched script. Unlike the eldest sibling from that franchise, the writing here does at least help this one here by adding something unique to mix with the familiar plot. It's very enjoyable to watch as the father's determined find a way to contend with his babies newfound destructive powers that can cause any sort of nightmare for any regular parent. Plus it helps that the infant actually has the best scene in the entire movie that places him in a hilarious fight (those of you who have seen this know what I'm referring to).

Characters: The people to focus on are Robert Parr/Mr Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) and Helen Parr/Elastigirl (Holly Hunter). Bob is the patriarch with super strength and some ego issues who takes care of the kids at home while Helen works to make superheroes legal. Craig is great in his vocal performance as a exhausted father who's put into the challenging hero work of being a parent, where the duties include caring for a baby whose erratic abilities that could kill him and dealing with his daughters attitude toward him following an incident with a boy she likes. Helen is the matriarch gifted with elastically stretching her body who works with a telecommunications tycoon to rally approval to revoke the aforementioned issue. Holly gives an excellent confident performance in an action lead role as she has more spotlight as opposed to being in the background like before as she interacts with a wider environment. Honorable mentions go to Edna Mode (Brad Bird) and Lucius Best/Frozone (Samuel L Jackson) for being welcome entertaining standouts in their unique personalities as well as their great vocal talent.

Overall Consensus: Incredibles 2 is a worthy followup to its predecessor that demonstrates growth in animation, good story progression, solid action sequences, fun comedy, and great writing, despite some character issues. ⭑⭑⭑1/2🎟 Runtime: 1 hour 58 minutes PG

Reasons to watch it: You like any of the previously mentioned actors. You have seen the 2004 classic and are interested in a sequel to the best fantastic four flick. You enjoy different takes on the superhero genre in animation. You are a Pixar fan who wants to see their progression after Coco.

Reasons to avoid it: You dislike any of the previously mentioned actors. You haven't seen the 2004 classic yet. You are bored by superhero media. You dislike Pixar animation in general.

Coming up next: June has picked up entertaining momentum by getting a boost from Pixar returning its fans the long awaited Incredibles 2, which managed to mostly overcome sequel-itis. With the month nearing toward a close, it's time to take a look at a different genre I haven't covered here before. There was a documentary recently released into theaters that's been on my radar for a while about a beloved minister/TV personality. Tune in next time as Screening Spectacles will review a feature about Fred Rogers that I watched last night, Won't You Be My Neighbor? !