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When we last saw the Parr clan, parents Bob (Craig T. Nelson) and Helen (Holly
Hunter,
2016's Batman V. Superman)
were cheering on speedster Dash (Huck Milner) as he raced around the track
during a school meet while also trying not to notice as their eldest Violet
(Sarah Vowell) attempted to hide her happy embarrassment after being asked out
to a movie by a boy she’d been crushing on, Tony (Michael Bird). But before
they’re even back in the car to talk about the day’s events the city finds
itself under assault by tunneling super villain Underminer (John Ratzenberger,
2014's Inside Out). Leaping into action, Bob morphs into his super heroic alter
ego Mr. Incredible while Helen puts on the mask of Elastigirl, and after
ordering Violet and Dash, both with superpowers of their own, to look after
their infant brother Jack-Jack (Eli Fucile) the pair leap into action certain
they, along with fellow hero Lucius Best a.k.a. Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson,
2017's Kong: Skull Island), can
save the day.
Things unfortunately do not go as planned, and while the Parr family and Frozone
do save countless lives, the amount of destruction to city property is
substantial. Worse, they didn’t catch the Underminer, their failure to do so
forcing each of them back into hiding as authorities let them know in no
uncertain terms superheroes using their powers to stop criminals, no matter how
good their intentions might be, is still against the law. They could all go to
jail, and no matter how unfair this might be the thought she and Bob might land
in prison for stopping bad guys leaving Violet, Dash and Jack-Jack parentless is
just too ghastly horrible for Helen to even want to think about.
Thus begins Incredibles 2, the long-in-coming sequel to Pixar’s 2004
Oscar-winning sensation The Incredibles, the entire Parr clan finding themselves
at the center of a brand new adventure as they attempt to make being a superhero
legal again while also doing what they can to remain a loving family no matter
what obstacles are put in front of them to overcome. In other words, pretty much
the same basic side plot as the first film only this time, instead of Bob
heading to a mysterious hidden island to secretly help lay the groundwork for
superhero rights, this time Helen is the one who gets to put back on the mask
and clandestinely battle baddies. This gender flip aside, writer/director Brad
Bird is still obsessed with examining the family unit, especially as it pertains
to how parents communicate with one another and their children, all of which
gives this second visit with the Parrs as emotionally accessible and as
intimately affecting a central core as that justifiably lauded first outing also
had.
If anything, it's family dynamics where Bird’s sequel excels. The scenes of a
tired yet determined Bob trying to figure out how to keep Dash interested and
excited about his homework, learning the best way to comfort Violet through her
emotional travails involving Tony when he barely understands what’s going on
with her while also having his mind blown into itty bitty pieces when he
discovers Jack-Jack has an unfathomable litany of powers he’s far too little to
be able to fully control, all of that is wonderful. Bird stages these scenes
with a knowing confidence that goes beyond a few simplistic jokes or a handful
of creatively engaging set pieces. Instead, he digs deeper, discovering
universal truths that flip through a handful of emotions with ease, producing a
number of laughs, tears, smiles and sighs with remarkable authority.
Surprisingly, it’s the Helen/Elastigirl side of the story that feels
underdeveloped and ill-defined. She’s convinced to come out of retirement by
wealthy tech company scions Winston (Bob Odenkirk) and Evelyn Deavor (Catherine
Keener, 2017's Get Out), a brother-sister tag team who just so happen to also be
superhero enthusiasts. They want to overturn the law that has kept heroes from
utilizing their powers to fight crime, and they feel Elastigirl is the one to
see this happen. They’ll show the world just what it is she can do and in the
process build up public enthusiasm to repeal the law that makes superheroes
illegal, Winston feeling that popular support is all they’ll need to convince
politicians to do what they think is the right thing for the world.
It’s all well staged, and Bird crafts a couple of show-stopping action sequences
that easily put every other comic book or superhero-based action film released
this year to shame. One involving Elastigirl and a runaway elevated train is
astonishing, everything from the animation to the editing to the camerawork to
the performances all working in terrific tandem. But the problem is these
moments, as superb as they might be, just don’t have anything approaching the
same sort of euphoric kick similar sequences in the first film had. More
importantly, they rarely engage the emotions, and as impressive and as
eye-popping as practically all of them are, I rarely felt anything more than
appreciation for the technical skill it took to bring them to life more than I
did anything else.
I think this has something to do with the core themes rumbling throughout the
center of Bird’s script. I’m not entirely certain the filmmaker knows what it is
he actually wants to say this time out. Do people have the right to make of
their lives what they want to, all obstacles and government shackles be damned?
Or should the majority of those residing on the Earth allow a precious chosen
few to solve all problems for them? Allowing themselves to be ruled by a
powerful elite who supposedly know more about right and wrong than they do? Or
is it some in-between utopia Bird is hinting at? Some sort of melding of social,
cultural and political ideals that will leave everyone satisfied and content?
I can't say for certain, and I’m pretty sure The Iron Giant and Tomorrowland
filmmaker doesn’t know either. In the end, what works about Incredibles 2 is the
same thing that worked so brilliantly in The Incredibles, and that are the
relationships between each member of the Parr family. Even with their
superpowers, these are real people struggling with real problems looking to
overcome them together like so many real people living in the real world right
now do each and every day. There is sublime joy in watching them learn and grow
together as a family, the way in which they can understand and embrace their
various differences and idiosyncrasies because they know doing so makes them a
stronger unit and allows their bond to grow in strength to the point it becomes
nigh unbreakable simply outstanding.
I honestly didn’t care if Elastigirl solved the mystery of the hypnotic madman
calling himself “The Screenslayer” trying to foil her return to crime fighting.
The back story to why Winston and Evelyn felt it was their duty to help her
didn’t interest me, either. But I did care about Helen and Bob’s friendship with
Lucius. I was emotionally invested in whether or not Violet was going to be able
to look beyond her schoolgirl crush and begin to see her value as a woman and
human being went far beyond whether a fellow teenage boy liked her or not. I did
want to see Dash prove victorious in his battle to become good at math and I
couldn’t wait to discover whether or not Bob would be able to find a way to help
Jack-Jack begin to control his blossoming superpowers. Most of all, I couldn’t
wait to see the entire Parr clan back fighting against evil side-by-side, using
their abilities in tandem as they trusted one another to do the right thing in
order for them all to save the day. Together. As a family. As one.
Ultimately, Incredibles 2 matters because Bird understands we as an audience are
fond of Bob, Helen, Violet, Dash and Jack-Jack because they in turn love one
another with selfless transparency. They’re the reason any of this has
resonance, the reason we’ve been eagerly longing for a new adventure featuring
each of them for over a decade. Even if the storytelling seems a little tired,
even if all of the themes aren’t nearly as clear or as direct as they were in
the first film, this follow-up still has its heart in the right place. While I
can’t call this sequel incredible, I still think it’s worth seeing. This
animated action extravaganza is a visually pleasing joy. Thanks in large part to
the Parr family bond. Besides, who can resist a movie with baby that shoots
lasers out of his eyes? I can't.
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