INCREDIBLES 2 (2018): Incredibly Doesn’t Mess Things Up
The Incredibles came out fourteen years ago. I know. Let it sink it. Accept the passage of time. However, it’s important to remember that time and place. Superhero cinema of the time had reached its first true peak with Spider-Man 2 that summer. Pixar was a still an independent company. Disney had yet to buy both Marvel and Star Wars as properties. Basically, times are different from when we last saw the Parr family come together and embrace their powers in what many – including myself – would argue is the best Pixar film. Where superhero submerging due to government interference breaths an antsy desire to go back in the field challenged by a grounding in domesticity. In a world of Marvel Cinematic Universes, one wonders how Incredibles 2 can live up to that legacy while getting with the times. Especially when it takes place immediately where the first film left off.
Well, it’s safe to report that Incredibles 2 accomplishes the bare minimum; it earns an argument for its own existence. Other Pixar sequels like Finding Dory or the Cars films rarely give us any kind of reason to get behind them aside from “you recognize the first movie? Well here’s MORE of it!” While Incredibles 2 harkens back to moments in the first film, rarely does it feel we’re treading old ground without exploring new avenues. This is writer/director Brad Bird‘s first sequel and his return to animation after the disastrous live action Disney flop Tomorrowland that showed even the man behind The Iron Giant and Ratatouille could be fallible. Bird’s humbling didn’t hobble his usual talent for character based animation or heartfelt storytelling. If anything, there seems to be an underlining apology from Brad Bird for embracing his traits that some have accused his work of being objectivist with Tomorrowland. Incredibles 2 directly takes on the idea of misrepresenting these characters as pillars of greatness to never be questioned. There’s so much subversion and human strength in the entire family, which Bird and the Pixar team display through so many delicate quiet moments and zany bits of character animation.
Admittedly, there’s more of the latter than the former than the average prior Bird film, which goes to say that this is in the latter half of his filmography. Maybe his time away from animation has given him more of an instinct to go full hog with the creative fast pace zaniness he couldn’t quite achieve in Tomorrowland or Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Of course, this isn’t a consistently bad thing for Incredibles 2. Jack Jack Parr is easily the most creatively designed and executed character animation in any recent Pixar film because it takes advantage of the medium by allowing for his revelation of having an endless amount of superpowers pop up. He’ll multiply or turn into a monster or disappear into another dimension at the drop of the hat. Yet, Bird manages to reign this in by giving this infant actual character and motivation in every step. Jack Jack’s face indicates a being with a small yet developing brain being curious and excited about each new power or even having a motivation to use them. The scene involved Jack Jack attacking a raccoon he perceives as a threat is a classic example.
In fact, much of the actions focuses around Bob “Mr. Incredible” Parr (Craig T. Nelson) getting used to the idea of being the caregiver of the children of the home manages to work surprisingly well. Bob – so used to his brute strength as a way of getting around his problems – now has to contend with being a caregiver. This is making Incredibles 2 sound like an animated remake of Mr. Mom, but it’s more of a perspective change for Bob that develops him as a character. While his wife Helen (Holly Hunter) is off being the superhero he secretly got to be in the first film, Bob has to stay behind and be a hero through the small deeds that have fulfilled Helen’s daily life while he’s been off at a day job. It’s less of “isn’t a man doing a woman’s job hilarious” scenario and more of a parent growing closer to his kids during their most crucial moments in their lives. Violet (Sarah Vowell) and Dash (Huck Milner) bounce off of this pretty well as Bob tries to desperately keep things together and progressively looks more haggard. Their family dynamic faces conflict in ways more traditional than super powered fights, leading to awkward family confrontation that faintly reminds those watching of Brad Bird’s early animation work helping to develop the look and feel of The Simpsons during its initial three seasons. Dysfunction isn’t just based in the none-supered.
Now, with Helen’s subplot in Incredibles 2, the conflict that’s most authentic isn’t so much with the characters as much as it is an audience’s inner turmoil. On the one hand, it’s wonderful seeing Helen as Elastigirl in the field on her own. As Bob learns how she kept things together, she’s getting back into the swing of things with heroics. She’s tough, confident yet always trying to improve herself as she just misses her target and tries to plot out their next move. All of this showcases a woman giddy at her opportunity, but not wanting to rest on laurels. She’s a positive dimensional role model, which translates perfectly as even more superheroes are introduced into the universe after Elastigirl opens the door for more of them to come out of hiding like the nervous portal creating Voyd (Sophia Bush). It’s one of the more nuanced female roles in Pixar’s history and allows for the always reliable Holly Hunter to balance the fret of her motherhood responsibilities with the thrill of being the spotlight hero for once.
Yet… so much of the stuff around her introduces the major underdeveloped elements of Incredibles 2. Namely, the plot catalyst of the Deavor siblings Winston (Bob Odenkirk) and Evelyn (Catherine Keener). The two of them are the business and tech brains behind the company that’s trying to resurrect superheroes respectively. It’s an intriguing conduit for Incredibles antics considering the rather quick resolve of the Superhero Relocation Program of Rick Dicker (Jonathan Banks). Yet, their exposition and dialogue comes off the most contrived and quickly put together. Winston’s nostalgic love of superheroes introduces some layer of potential parallel given the subversion of traditional family roles that the Parrs are going through… but that never takes shape. Same with Evelyn’s more independent knack for creating inventions that just sort of seems put upon, without ever taking full advantage of the “sisters doing it for themselves while under the thumb of the man” dynamic she and Helen go through all that well. This is especially eye glaring as our new villain Screenslaver (Bill Wise) comes to play and increasingly shows that his generic look is about all he – and any other possible constituents – could have. All of this jumbles much of the plot during the second half and never quite coalesces nearly as well as the inner personal conflicts of the titular family.
Without going too much further into potential spoilers, this whole subplot manages to waste all the new superheroes as personalities for our leads to interact with after a certain point. Even Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson) has more screen time than in the original yet rarely has any kind of impact on what’s going on. The same for Voyd and all the other funny eye catching heroes that come into the fray before being hoisted for convenience’s sake. Still, Bird manages to take advantage of all the super beings during any of the elaborate action set pieces of Incredibles 2. Right from the opening fight between the family and The Underminer (John Ratzenberger), the flights of fancy in the fight choreography and gadgetry on hand to fight our superheroes is consistently wonderful, managing to have a rule of thumb that doesn’t break any uncanny valley like many CG assisted superhero fights of recent years. Each of the family has an internal consistency of some sort with how they are portrayed using their powers, even Jack Jack. Which makes any of the big action set pieces feel grounded in a sense of character around them. I only wish some of the other supers got the same treatment.
Yet, Incredibles 2 doesn’t feel like it wants to build a cohesive Marvel Cinematic Universe as much as it wants to progress our titular characters while sneaking us a peek at the larger purview of this universe. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The first film worked because it was a domestic chemistry story first and an action superhero romp second. Bird knows this but also that the world needs to be opened up to allow our family to permeate and diverge in ways the original film didn’t. Still, if we ever get another entry in this franchise, it’s clear that we’d need to have some kind of time jump. We’ve exhausted most of what we can do with an infant superhero and mid-life crisis parents. Progression from here is the only thing that can effectively widen the scope while keeping the stakes rooted in the family interaction. For now though, Incredibles 2 complements the and expands upon original while keeping a toe in the slightly safer side of familiarity.
Rating: 4 out of 5 Jack Jack Powers
Marianiment 