Incredibles Two Review 

The Incredibles 2 needed to be good. For my own sanity, it needed to be great. I was four years old when The Incredibles came out, and it was an integral part of my childhood. It was one of those rare animated movies that my entire family enjoyed, full of adult satire for my parents and cartoon do-gooders fighting bad guys for me. Suffice to say, the smile never left my face during the second movie, stayed with me the whole drive home, and is still ridiculously plastered to my face as I'm writing this review.

The movie began rather strangely. I don't know if there was a technical error, but we were shown an odd short film about an asian woman raising a dumpling baby and watching it grow up. It was touching, heartfelt, and funny, until the point (spoiler alert) where she eats the baby whole to prevent it from getting married. The person next to me swore audibly at that scene, and a warm and fuzzy scene where the child (no longer a dumpling baby, but a man baby that looks like a dumpling), returns to console his mom, did not save this short film. It was technically sound, and for a movie with no dialogue, it was great, but my main problem with it was that it had absolutely nothing to do with the main movie, and for a large part of it, I was wondering if I'd come to the wrong theatre, or if someone had put in the wrong VHS tape. So, just like that short bit basically wasted part of my life by making me sit through something entirely unrelated to the main event, I, too, wasted your time by making you read a long and completely unnecessary paragraph completely aloof from the rest of the review.

I've not been to many movies where there is a full minute long warning about epilepsy, but I suppose that it was needed. Now, finally, after a cast cameo telling us to enjoy the movie, a different movie, and a warning... now the action begins. And boy, was it worth the wait.

Without spoiling the movie, it starts out very action-packed, picking up directly where the first movie left off, and not missing a beat. The whole Underminer scene was shot very well, and the ramifications of the finale were felt by most of the audience, judging by their silence. But honestly, in 2018, if an animated movie isn't drawn to perfection, it's considered a failure of cinematography. So good job to Brad Bird, but this was really the bare minimum.

But where this movie really separates itself is the story. It's complex, well thought out, and compelling. New stay-at-home-dad Bob Parr is hilarious, and should give kids something to appreciate about their parents, and watching Elastigirl suddenly find herself in the limelight was brilliant. The movie had stuff for us all, from parents relating to Bob's struggles to understand his kids problems, to teenagers understanding Violet's relationship issues and anger management problems, to kids, who could pick either the slapstick of Jack-Jack, or the hilarious prepubescent bravado of Dash. But The Incredibles doesn't just give each demographic something to laugh at and relate to, it transcends such meager expectations and allows all demographics to enjoy various aspects of all the storylines.

Not only can a kid enjoy Jack-Jack blowing up, moving through dimensions, and floating freely through the air, but they could also enjoy the action of Elastigirl, or the single dad struggles of Bob, if only on a physical level. An adult could likewise enjoy Dash's antics as he annoys his parents, and Violet's classic teenage rebellion. And an adolescent could enjoy the more mature problems of Bob Parr, the action of Elastigirl, and the comedy of the kids.

I guess what I'm really trying to say, is that this movie is not only funny, but it's funny for all ages, and I can hardly fault a few immature jokes if the reactions to those jokes by the characters was so on point that I broke one of my cardinal rules of theaters and laughed out loud. Not a snort, or a chuckle, a genuine laugh, and I think that alone gave me my money's worth.

There are just so many good things about this movie, it kind of sucks to talk about what's wrong with it. Luckily, this is gonna be a short section. The biggest problem with this movie is a transparent villain, who commits some bad cliches while on screen. I'll bet that, unless you're a toddler, you guessed the villain within the first five minutes of them being on the screen. Not only that, but they monologue, reveal their plans and motivations... all while the hero is literally strapped to a chair. You can't get any more cliche than that can you? But aside from that, the only other problem was a misuse and underuse of Edna. Not only did she have a disappointingly small role in the movie, but said role was also not really very important.

Now of course, you could bash to movie for having cartoon physics and strange mannerisms from law enforcement, but at some level you have to forgive it if only on the principle that it is an animated movie about a weird collection of superheroes saving the world. And it's genuinely funny, action packed, and heartwarming. I mean, what more could you ask for. But this movie also goes the extra mile of classics such as The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, and Wall-e by being compelling for all ages, and that made it an instant classic.

Final Grade: A

Rating: ¾, 9/10, 96%

Verdict: Just go see it... oh who am I kidding, you already have.