Re:tro Re:view - The Incredibles 2!

Incredibles 2 picks up the moment of the last film and takes us on an Incredicoaster ride!  It has been fourteen years since we last saw the Parr family defeat Syndrome in the first movie and we saw the epilogue that ended with the Underminer opposed by the family.  The movie begins with an introduction by Craig t. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson, and Brad Bird thanking the audience for watching the movie. Then, this shifts to the animated short, Bao, by Domee Shi.  It tells the story of a lonely woman living with her father.  He tosses some bao into his mouth and runs off to work.  

The woman is about to eat the last bao, but it starts to try as a baby, pop out arms and body.  We see the bao being raised by her.  It is a sweet parable that charmed everyone in the audience.  Minor spoilers ahead!  This is a return for Brad Bird to Pixar and the Incredibles after his brilliant Tomorrowland (2015).  The one part between the first film and the new one is that they are able to have more fun with the titles rendering the castle in retro-60’s promotion art ending with II rather than the standard logo.  The film begins not with the super heroes’ introduction, but the questioning of young Tony Rydinger (Michael Bird), the boy who asked out Violet Parr at the end of the first Incredibles.  

He is questioned by agent Rick Dicker (Jonathan Banks, a new voice actor, who was on Breaking Bad) about what happened up to the appearance of the Underminer and then we shift into the family in action.  We get The Incredibles 2 title.  There is a also an improvement in the animation from less plastic looking skin.  The parents, Mr. Incredible, Bob Parr (Nelson), and Elastigirl (Hunter), Helen Parr, tell Violet (Sarah Vowell) and Dash (Huck Milner, new voice for Dash) to stay with infant Jack Jack (Eli Fucile).  Tony scrambling for cover sees Violet without her mask.  They take on the Underminer (John Ratzenberger) with his massive drill machine.  Underminer collapses a bank and sucks up the money from a vault and Mr. Incredible.  They get the help of fellow superhero Frozone, Lucius Best (Jackson).  Still, the day is saved, with the drill machine barely scrapping City Hall.  The police take the Incredibles into custody.  Agent Dicker uses a machine to remove Tony’s memory to protect the Incredible’s secret identity.  They are still in violation of the Super Relocation Act, but have two weeks to stay at a motel after their home was destroyed in the first movie. 

During the confusion, Frozone is able to slip away and is contacted by Winston Deavor (Bob Odenkirk from Better Call Saul), the owner of DevTech.  The Incredibles settle in the motel and later Bob and Helen are at the pool talking at night when they are joined by Frozone.  He mentions that he checked out DevTech and says they are all wanted for a meeting in their old costumes.  They head over to DevTech and meet Winston and his sister, Evelyn Deavor, played by Catherine Keener who was in Get Out (2017).  She is the brilliant inventor while her brother is the marketer.  Winston is excited singing the theme songs of the super heroes.  He relates that his father was a friend to super heroes, he had a direct line to two heroes, but Winston relates that this ended in a tragic robbery.  Winston believes that it would have never happened if super heroes were not in hiding and hopes to change the public perception of heroes.  Evelyn mentions that her mother wanted them to hide in the house’s shelter.  She has invented tiny body cams to record the heroes perspective of their saving the day.  

Winston has selected Elasti Girl as the showcase hero that will lead the p.r. campaign.  This is especially pointed out to Mr. Incredible with charts showing his destruction.  So this is a reverse of the first movie with Mr. Incredible now Mr. Mom watching over the family and Elasti Girl becoming the hero.  The Incredibles are taken to their new home, one of Winston’s mansions he no longer uses, it is fancy, Dash loves using the remote activating panels.  Elasti Girl is given the awesome Elasti Cycle, it is able to separate, this is one of the best additions and I wanted the toy!  She leaves Bob to travel to a city, New Urbrem, which Winston explains has the highest rate of crime.  Bob finds that being a stay at home dad takes a super hero.  Violet discovers that Tony has forgotten their date.  Dash needs his dad’s help with his New Math book.  Even more, Jack Jack slips out of his crib, he goes to the couch to watch television.  He sees a robber with a mask, turns and then sees a raccoon with the mask-like face!  Jack Jack uses his powers to take on the raccoon.  This is the scene I saw at D23 so it was great to finally see it in the film!  

Elasti Girl has a monorail to save and it slowly becomes apparent that behind it all is the super villain Screenslaver (Bill Wise) who can hypnotize people.  Mr. Incredible has some help from a returning favorite, Edna Mode (Bird).  Elasti Girl is able to save The Ambassador (Isabella Rossellini).  She also finds new heroes gathered by Winston; Voyd (Sophia Bush) who can create teleporting discs, and also Krushauer, super telekinetic, and He-Lectrix, electrical powers, both voiced by Phil LaMarr, Reflux (Paul Eiding), an older super hero who can vomit lava, the super strong Brick, and Screech, an owl-like, flying hero.  The first Incredibles was a mix of super spy and super heroes, but except for a hydrofoil yacht, this film focuses more on the super heroes which I like.  I love the focus of Elasti Girl as a super hero especially since she has such a dynamic and visually  interesting power.  Jack Jack is also a break out character, every time he babbles or cries, the audience laughed.  Incredibles 2 takes the award for the most fun, well written superhero film of the summer!  Does the success of Incredibles 2 guarantee a sequel?  

Four Masks out of Five!

#TheIncredibles2, #BradBird, #Screenslaver, #Voyd