Wait, I thought you renounced superheros.
Well, I renounce my renouncement.
For a while there, I would typically say The Incredibles was my favorite Pixar film whenever anyone asked. Even back when I was saying it, it was stupid to say I had a favorite, but I’ve given up on that now for sure. There’s no way to have a favorite when you’re confronted with the incredible riches Pixar has given us over the years. Inside Out, though. It’s my favorite now. Still, I was beyond hyped to see the Incredibles return to movie screens and Incredibles 2 does a pretty great job at delivering. The character work is still great and the humor flows out of those personal dynamics as much as it does out of slapstick or punchlines. The movie introduces a boatload of new characters, including a fun roster of supers with bizarre abilities; it’s fun when we get to see them trot out their abilities late in the film. I suppose the real star here is Jack-Jack who is a real handful to say the least. Basically every time he’s on screen I had a huge smile on my face and was laughing a lot. An astonishing backyard smackdown between Jack-Jack and a prowling raccoon is one of the best scenes of the entire year, a beautifully staged action scene and a hilarious slapstick romp rolling into one. It should be said that the action here is tremendously well done. I’ve always said over the years that one of the things that really elevated The Incredibles was just how great the action; it was kind of an action movie as much as it was anything and that holds true here. A scene of Elastigirl going up against a runaway train is pulse-pounding and gripping in the way you’d expect a big budget Marvel action scene to be. I will admit to having some problems with the story. The mystery villain is obvious from the get-go and once said villain just starts taking over everyone in the movie, things got a little dull for me. At just a couple of minutes shy of two hours, it’s a bit long, I think. It’s cool that the opening sequence picks right up where the first movie left off, but that action sequence, in my opinion, could stand a trim. But these are pretty minor complains all things considered. It’s not better than the first film, not even as good I’d say. But when it’s firing on all cylinders, it’s magnificently entertaining. For a sequel coming fourteen years later . . . well, that’s incredible. 3 ½ stars.
tl;dr – not quite to the standard of the first film, this belated sequel has a few issues, but not that many really and when this movie works, it’s phenomenally. 3 ½ stars.