Review: 'Incredibles 2'

I can still remember going to the cinema to see the original back in 2004. I was 15 at the time and my sister took me to see it, and I had an absolute blast.

For me, this will forever be a timeless classic, one of Pixar's best feature films and in my opinion, it's still the best superhero film of all-time.

It will probably stay in my top 100 films of all-time till my dying days. It is currently ranked at 46, and I can't see it ever leaving that list.

What made the first Incredibles so great was the family dynamic. It is a story-telling formula that, if done right, can be great and easily relatable for people of all ages. Also, the action and story itself was constantly exciting and had many surprising levels of maturity in the topics that it was covering.

Now, 14 years later, I was in a buoyant mood that we were on course for another hit.

The long gap between the two installments doesn't bother me. But it may bother others. I remember the gap between Toy Story 2 and 3 being ten years. To me, that means they were waiting to find the right story, and I believe that is what happened with this sequel.

It starts off with a lot of promise and an exciting action set-piece. Then we see the plot starting to be developed and a rather intriguing sub-plot take place as well.

The second act does have plenty of strong and memorable moments. The story has some solid development and the sub-plot for me was starting to become the more gripping tale.

Then, like the second act, the finale moves along a good pace with many entertaining set-pieces. But if I was being cruel, the twists the story took felt familiar and lacked any shocks.

It's great to see most of the original cast return for some voice-work: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson. They all did a great job and have not lost their touch whatsoever.

But it's the character of Jack-Jack that absolutely steals the show. He gets the biggest laughs and any time he's on screen, you just get captivated by him and the struggles he is facing in this film. The visual and slapstick style of comedy from him is so universal that everyone can get a grip on it.

The films biggest strength remains to be the family aspect. I liked the every-day family approach to this story, giving it a modern twist.

Another memorable part of the first one was the score by Michael Giacchino. Well, I can safely say that the rompy 60s inspired score by Giacchino is back, and there are many new pieces that were a joy to listen to. It is a score that I certainly will be listening to multiples times for the rest of the year.

I need to mention the animation, as it is mind-boggling. It's certainly becoming as photo-realist as possible. It could get quite scary as to how real animation could get in the future.

Sadly, the film does have its problems. The main reason I don't think this is as strong as the first one is the lack of surprise, shock, and profoundness. I remember the first one having some neat twists in the story's development that shocked everyone. In this one, there are surprises, but you can see them coming.

Also, I don't think the final act had a dilemma that had huge stakes. It was a pretty conventional set-piece that ended in an expected way.

Another small thing that this film lacked was playing on the tropes of a typical superhero film. They did that in the first one by making fun of monologuing, and they never continued with that in the first one. But don't worry, all of these are just minor things that prevent it from matching the first one.

There is still loads to like about this. It's super-entertaining, the action is exciting, the timing of the gags was spot on and made it consistently funny, it moves along at a nice pace, and the way they play with the characters powers is great to see in the final product.

It might not raise the stakes of the first one or go into as much depth with its story. But when you compare it with most sequels, it's a pretty strong one and it's still another welcomed addition to Pixar's strong catalog.

It could well be the perfect family-film of the summer for this year, and I would not say no to a third installment. Director Brad Bird and his team really understand what a superhero film needs, whilst also having a story underneath all the action that we people of all ages can learn from.

It's amazing that the timing of the release of this sequel during an over-saturated time of superhero films can still feel refreshing.

I must mention a couple of things.

There isn't a post-credit scene per se. But something does happen at the end of the credits that gives you enough of a hint of what could be in store for a potential third chapter. Also, a few pieces of music are playing in the end credits that links with moments from the film which were great to hear with the best sound system.

Also, like with pretty much all Pixar films, there is a short before the featured presentation. Like with all Pixar projects, there is a lot of heart, emotion, and enough comedy to keep you smiling through the tears. Also, the animation is getting more and more real as the years go by. This studio is really making formidable steps within the animation genre. I can't wait to see the steps they take for the next installment.

Rating: 8/10