The Incredibles 2 (2018)

Not going to lie: Elastigirl was my strange teenage crush

The Incredibles was the first movie I saw when the Galaxy Theater in Tulare, CA opened. For ages we had to make the trip a town over to Visalia to catch a movie. But now we had our own theater. It was the night of a play (A Midsummer Night's Dream), and my friends and I were still half-covered in stage makeup as we bought our tickets and staggered in, stage-drunk and tired, to see Pixar's new superhero movie. It became, and still is, my favorite Pixar movie. 14 years later, Pixar has released the long-anticipated sequel. And I saw it last night.

Summary:

The Parrs are trying to get back to life as normal people. Supers, those with superhuman powers, are still illegal, according to the government. When the family is approached by an idealistic millionaire with an eye on supers legalization, they jump at the chance. Or, rather, Elastigirl does: you see, she's going to be the better face of the legalization movement, according to the data. What follows is an adventure about family, about fitting in, about the very definition of heroism.

Pros:

You Can Go Home Again: Pixar has done this time and time again, usually with very good results: they craft an older, more mature sequel to one of their flagship IPs that flies in the face of conventional wisdom. The Incredibles 2 is one such film: it allows its characters to evolve in new ways, while retaining everything that made the first film so great. It only took them 14 goddamned years. Maybe we'll get The Incredibles 3 when I'm 45.

The Voice Acting: ...is just incredible (pun intended (yeah, I'll probably be making that one a few times)). Voice acting isn't just dialogue: it's manipulation of sound, and emotional resonance using voice alone. Holly Hunter, Craig T. Nelson, Sarah Vowell and the rest of the cast are all very good at what they do. You can hear and feel their full range of emotion, especially a very tired Mr. Incredible just trying to stay awake and take care of his family, while the wife is out doing what he'd rather be doing: saving people.

Yass, Queen!: Edna Mode is one of Pixar's best characters, and she finds a great niche to fill in this movie. I won't spoil anything, but Brad Bird returns as the superhero fashionista, and it was wonderful having her back.

The Animation: Pixar has arrived at a curious place, in regards to its animation: the lighting, color, and objects are all very nearly photorealistic, while the characters remain sharply drawn and cartoonish. This dichotomy shouldn't work as well as it does, but it does. The photorealism almost naturalizes how stylistic the characters are drawn. The world of The Incredibles is a retro, golden-age superhero daydream: and I love it.

Michael Gia-FUCKING-cchino: If any modern movie composer is trying to snatch John Williams' crown, Michael Giacchino seems to be trying his best. He continues his virtuosic partnership with Pixar, having previously composed just about everything they've done, with a jazzy, bombastic score for The Incredibles 2. The music swings when it needs to, draws out pathos when it needs to, and perfectly underscores the major beats of the entire movie. Giacchino is one of the best people in the business.

Remix and Subvert: How do you make a sequel to an incredibly popular film? One of the best tacks to take, in recent years, is to take the story elements of the first movie and remix and subvert them. The Incredibles 2, written and directed by Brad Bird, manages to do this without feeling tired or trite, which can sometimes happen when it seems like the studio demands a sequel and the filmmakers just give the audience the same movie with different details. Here, we get Elastigirl's shot at superheroing, where the first film focused on Mr. Incredible. It's now Robert's turn to play the role of father: one he embraces with relish, even if he might be in over his head. I won't spoil the plot at all, but, if you look closely, you can see how it mirrors the first film's. I think this comes off as clever, and not lazy.

Super Power Ingenuity: The film has a great deal of fun using its cast of supers' powers in interesting ways. Elastigirl has a motorcyle that can split in two as she stretches her body, which allows her to slingshot herself, still riding the bike, across great distances. Mr. Incredible teaches baby, Jack-Jack, to act like a laser gun by showing "Pew Pew Pew!" while holding his son like a laser pistol. At one point, Mr. Incredible gets into an argument with another super: he says, "can't you UNcrush this?" to a super with telekinetic powers. "No one has ever asked me to do that, before" he replies, "can you UNpunch something??" The film allows its heroes to stretch and explore the utility of their powers in fun and innovative ways that compliment the big set pieces and emotional moments. This stands in stark contrast to the DCEU's tactic: EVERYONE PUNCH EVERYONE, AGAIN! (you didn't think I was going to pass on an opportunity to shit on the DCEU did you? After all this time, you'd ask, and I'd say, always)

Themes: Pixar has always reveled in making films that work both for the children in attendance and their parents. The Incredibles 2 is no exception. We get explorations of what it means to be a family, what heroism truly means, the power of grief, and commentary on society's all-consuming predilection towards "ease." Brad Bird has crafted a film where characters discuss their differing reactions to the deaths of their parents, and a girl has water flush out of her nostrils in embarrassment. It's the kind of movie that can do both, and that is awesome.

Cons:

Epileptic Seizures or Mild Head Aches: The main villain, Screen Slaver, hypnotizes people through various screens: he uses strobing flashes of light, and there are times where I nearly got a headache watching the movie. Beware.

In Conclusion:

It took them long enough, but I was happy to see The Incredibles, and the world Brad Bird has crafted for them, on the big screen again.

Should You Watch It?

Yes, absolutely, without reservation.

Miscellany:

- The Incredibles 2 currently has the best opening weekend of any animated feature, ousting Finding Dory* with $180 million.

- Bao, the Pixar short that accompanies this movie, is charming and beautiful. I won't spoil it for you.

*A previous version of this article, stupidly, assumed that Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs was the second highest grossing animated film opening weekend. That's what I get for relying on Wikipedia, kids.