*epileptic seizure warning*
The Incredibles make their triumphant return in a sequel that pretty much everyone had been asking for for the last fourteen years. Does it live up to the hype? Yes.
From writer/director Brad Bird (director of the previous Incredibles movie, The Iron Giant, that George Clooney movie, Mission Impossible 4, and one of my personal favourites, Ratatouille) comes a slickly directed, fast pace action movie with a strong focus on its incredible (excuse the pun) superhero family. While the first one focused more on Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson), this one focuses more on Elastigirl (Holly Hunter). We follow her on missions as an illegal superhero and it provides us with some of the most creative uses of her stretchy powers and some of the most insanely well-edited and well-shot motorcycle scenes ever. Watching her in action is exhilarating and is worth the price of admission alone. Meanwhile, Mr. Incredible is now a stay-at-home dad who struggles to balance helping Violet (Sarah Vowell) with her boy problems, keeping up Dash's (Huck Milner) math homework, and dealing with Jack-Jack's newly discovered superpowers. These moments are a welcomed break from the adrenaline-fueled pacing of Elastigirl's plot and provides most, if not, all the laughs of the movie. This is all good until we meet the movie's main villain, Screenslaver... Not a terrible villain, but it's not good either and the somewhat on-the-nose dialogue doesn't do it any favours. It's a superhero movie and it suffers from a common superhero movie problem. Fortunately, the rest of the movie is great enough to excuse the predictable story and simply serviceable villain.
Incredibles 2 is a thrilling and satisfying continuation of a beloved Pixar classic. Although it falters in the villain department, it's genuinely great to see the Parr family back in action. Stay for the credits if you wanna experience some of Michael Giacchino's best work played over some sexy Saul Bass-esque art work.