Movie Review: INCREDIBLES 2 - Photo credit: twitter.com, Edition by Amber255 via Bitlanders.com
The next film in the IMDb list of 50 best movies of 2018 is INCREDIBLES 2. The fans of animated films probably all saw the Incredibles first part in 2004. It was a mystery to me that such a successful project never got any sequel. However, Brad Bird, a longtime and two Oscar-winning filmmakers of the best Hollywood cartoon studio Pixar after a 14-year break in the cinema screens, brought back a cult and beloved animated film masterpiece INCREDIBLES 2.
This time, the creator of Ratatouille and The Iron Giant, who has been busy with feature films in recent years as Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol and Tomorrowland, has focused on very important, life-like and relevant topics that describe every modern family.
Brad Bird’s strong script and direction elevate this animated adventure to new heights. Instead of trying to copy or parody the superhero films of the past 14 years, Incredibles 2 embraces what made its first outing so memorable: The Parr family and their willingness to work together in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.
Credit: metacritic.com
Brad Bird took archetypical abilities and created the Incredibles, bringing to the forefront not the feats of superheroes, but family troubles that arise in any relationship.
Interestingly, the theme of the family even in the Marvel and DC comics remains rather poorly researched. Separate series were dedicated to this, but in these comics, the gray weekdays themselves seemed weak. The authors did not want to dwell on them, leading the plot to a more dynamic course.
But the INCREDIBLES in 2004 was able to show that boring family everyday life can also be fun. And 14 years later, Brad Bird did it again.
INCREDIBLES 2 Official Trailer - Video credit: youtube.com
The Short Story Of The Movie
After the leaders of the world decided to ban the superhero, the Parr family is trying to get used to the lives of ordinary people.
One day, everything changes dramatically when Winston (Bob Odenkirk) get in touch with them and offer to give back trust to the super-power population. Only, of course, with one condition. Mr. Incredible's wife, Helen (Holly Hunter), who is the most adequate of all the brutal team, has to return this confidence. Not so pleased with such events, Helen's husband Bob (Craig T. Nelson) finally agrees to give his loved one a chance.
After escorting his wife on a secret mission, Bob takes charge of housekeeping, caring for a young child, and has to accept the claims of the teenage daughter's Violet (Sarah Vowell) hysterics. It begins the most difficult and responsible period of Bob's life and all the fun with which not every man can get along. The baby Jack-Jack (Eli Fucile), youngest members of the family, appears having super-powers which are as much fun as dangerous!
Animated film INCREDIBLES 2 - Photo credit: imdb.com
The Content Of The Movie
I've said the same thing for many years - Pixar Studio is the best animation studio in Hollywood, or even in the world. And let the fans of Ghibli's animated film masterpieces don't get angry, but sometimes Pixar animated films carry more meaning than some works of the studio I mentioned. But this movie review is not about comparing studies, but about a specific movie from the Pixar collection.
Starting from 2006, when the Walt Disney bought the studio, every year except 2014, Pixar released one, and sometimes even two, films that delighted not only the small cinema visitors but also their parents. Who can resist the Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo or Coco?
Of course, the studio does not release projects only with original ideas, but from time to time it brings back the stories loved by millions of people around the world.
Superhero movie INCREDIBLES 2 - Photo credit: parenting.blog.austin360.com
In 2016, a sequel Finding Dory to one of the best cartoons of all time Finding Nemo was released, which was very warmly welcomed by audience and film critics. Love for this movie was proved not only by high ratings, a billion dollars but also by the prestigious Oscar statue for the best animation of the year.
That is why, when watching the situation with the movie Finding Dory, I became quiet about the return of the INCREDIBLES 2. And while it was clear that the studio was going to make a profit with this nostalgic film that appeared in 2004, it did not mean that its animators would not put all their heart in reviving the adventures of the Parr family.
At first glance, the story of the film may not seem to be very creative, but it has a very important idea that adults and not children will notice first. However, the film is not only focused on the children's audience. Otherwise, it would not be Pixar, but some Illumination.
INCREDIBLES 2 review - Photo credit: nicoc.canalblog.com
The film was created according to the well-known rules of the Disney world - a bit of action, a bit of violence, a few family values, a little humor, good and bad camps. But still, it was fun to dive into those recognizable adventures when classical obsessed wicked people want to destroy the world and make every effort to carry out their evil plans.
Really, I had more fun watching not how the heroes fight the evil, but how the father left at home alone tries to care for his three children. Here's the real heroism: to show that the greatest feats are to be a parent, not to stop a train or a ship, because what is eternal requires more effort than the immediate salvation of people.
The main idea is devoted to the mode of life and equality between man and woman. All work done at home by women is as important and heavy work done by men. And while the film shows a slightly archaic model, where women have to prepare food, arrange every corner to make the house shine, prepare children for school, help prepare lessons, and still please the man, it still describes the attitude of most men to the beautiful gender. What is more, the film also presents an approach to equality at work.
50 best movies of 2018: INCREDIBLES 2 - Photo credit: imdb.com
These two elements of the film's story are perfectly matched to each other, resulting in lively and non-banal humor on the screen, able to make fun not only of the characters but also of our own. But the humorous side of the film is not limited to that. There is also enough standard situations in the film, complemented by mini-scenes, which from time to time suppress a rather serious tone and solid jokes, understood only by adults.
An endless action becomes a plus also. If the action was missing in the first movie, here we really got too much of it. Something is exploding somewhere, crazy trolls in the city and collisions with both opponents and alien objects. In short, this animated film has more action than some action movies that are boring to watch.
Holly Hunter in INCREDIBLES 2 - Photo credit: twitter.com
The Personages Of The Movie
All the main characters we loved from the first part came to the sequel - the weak-minded healthy fellow Bob, aka Mr. Incredible, his strong-willed and business-like wife Helen (she is Elastigirl), their older daughter - shy Violet, her younger brother - swift Dashiell, and the baby Jack-Jack.
The heroes were also revealed well. Each of them has a personality, distinctive features, and quite a lot of time to show off them on the screen. Therefore, watching at the whole, we see a united family, and we believe in their adventure and lifestyle.
Of course, Bob and his son Jack-Jack are my favorites here. A great tandem, which not only manages to make me laugh but also makes the storyline evolve along their personalities. Bob Parr is beautiful in the role of a father trying to keep track of his children but completely unaware of how many little things need to be taken into account to keep things afloat. Mr. Incredible, who saved cities, does not represent how much responsibility he took upon himself. Bob realizes that the main feats his wife performed at home when kept the family together even in the most critical situations.
Pixar animated film INCREDIBLES 2 - Photo credit: youtube.com
In general, all the best scenes in the sequel are his attempts to keep home life and help children with their problems. Somewhere he is doing great, somewhere not, but Bob is trying. True, with Jack-Jack so easy things will not work.
Jack-Jack overshadows all other characters with his abilities. He has power and very strong power, and no one, including parents, doesn't know what the infant is capable of. Of course, he the best cartoon film character. We even can say that he is quite an original personage of the superhero movie.
Elastigirl also delights by the actions' performance, and the two remaining incredible children Violet with Dashiell complement the necessary scenes by their teenage way of life.
The only one that confused is the main antagonist that is easy to guess already in the first few minutes of his appearance on the screen. Here is the only minus of the film's storyline that personally to me seemed undeveloped.
Cartoon film INCREDIBLES 2 - Photo credit: imdb.com
The Technical Side Of The Movie
This movie, great by its story, can also boast by a very solid visual side.
However, the animation that we saw here has not yet been seen in any other film project of a similar nature. Every detail of the environment, every heroic mimic, every smallest element was worked up to perfection, so watching the scenes of the film, for me, it was sometimes hard to understand what I see: film or life. Of course, the great 3D helped the film, and it also added a distinctive charm to the overall visual background.
I would mention also a good soundtrack that resembled some of James Bond's musical compositions. The sound montage is also well-created on all tense action scenes. Video editing is also without reproach. The story of the film is vivid, so the review does not last seem too long.
INCREDIBLES 2 Fight Scene in Full: Jack-Jack vs. Raccoon - video credit: youtube.com
The Collective Work Of The Actors
I had to watch the film in Lithuanian, what I do not do often, because it is more fun to look into the characters while listening to the original version, but I had no choice when I came to the premiere of the film.
I can only say that the Lithuanian dubbed version was really great. It was not only the intonation of the heroes but also the emotions that the actors were able to convey to the ears of viewers, duplicating this film in Lithuanian. And I can say, it's a rare thing when I like dubbing.
All the actors voiced the heroes in the first episode are coming back after ten years - Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson, and Sarah Vowel.
One of the characters in the film is voiced even by director Brad Bird himself.
Cartoon film INCREDIBLES 2 - Photo credit: tumblr.com
On The Final Note
The film is absolutely family friendly, good to watch it both for adults and children and to see the overall picture of an improved family and world image that always defeats evil.
In the whole, it is a strong and very entertaining sequel that has provided amazing and full of tension entertainment for almost two hours of display. I hope that Pixar will return to these fun characters in the future. They are worth the third part.
Summing up, it is important to say that INCREDIBLES 2, having no basis in the form of comics, gives the best superhero history of 2018. Simple, dynamic, bright, and sincerely funny. There are no inappropriate jokes, for its perception you do not need to watch eighteen films, and most importantly - it finds ways to reach every viewer. And that is because of the family theme, which in some or other aspects concerns everyone.
The team of INCREDIBLES 2 - Photo credit: twitter.com
It's a cartoon, delicately and skillfully working with recognizable life situations and painful problems that are unlikely to be removed in the near future from the agenda.
The INCREDIBLES 2 is a rare case for the cinema as a whole, but still, a case not rare for Pixar, when you can safely say that everyone will like it - an ideal reason for going to the cinema with the family.
In general, the class, just a class; I really liked it! I hope we will not have to wait for the third part another 14 years.
That’s why, much like the first Incredibles, Incredibles 2 isn’t a typical superhero movie. It’s not just a team of good guys suiting up and fighting bad guys. That’s not the movie Bird wanted to make last time, it’s not the film he wanted to make this time, and, should Incredibles 3 happen, it’s not likely to be what that film would be either.
Credit: io9.gizmodo.com
My rating: 9.0/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 93/100
Metacritic: 80/100
Critics average: 86/100
IMDb: 7.8/10
HAVE FUN!
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