After 14 anxious years, the Parr family has finally returned to the big screen to take on evildoers, strengthen family ties and remind us all of our youth.
Directed by Brad Bird, this sequel does the impossible. “Incredibles 2” remains nostalgic for millennials while also taking on relevant issues of today.
Helen Parr, otherwise known as Elastigirl, is the muscle of this movie. Voiced by Holly Hunter, Elastigirl is chosen to take on the latest villain, “Screenslaver.” While Bob, famously known as Mr. Incredible and voiced by Craig T. Nelson, stays home with the kids.
“Incredibles 2” picks up exactly where the first one left off. Violet is still a brooding teenager and Dash can’t seem to sit still. Then there’s Jack-Jack, who arguably steals the show.
Jack-Jack is still an infant, but throughout the movie he discovers his powers — 17 of them to be exact — through one shenanigan after another.
For example, one of the most intense fighting scenes comes not from Elastigirl or Mr. Incredible, but from Jack-Jack’s encounter with a feisty raccoon.
Stereotypical themes emerge as Mr. Incredible shows the fragility of his ego. It’s a classic setup: his wife is chosen to be the face of crime-fighting instead of him.
In cliché fashion, he pouts for a couple scenes before assuming taking care of the children will be a menial task. Tsk tsk.
With a little help from Edna Mode, Mr. Incredible quickly rises to the challenge and becomes the doting father and supportive husband we all knew he could be.
Edna, voiced by director Bird, is every bit as sharp-witted and cold shouldered as we remembered her to be. And this time she’s draped in a silk robe.
The animated cast manages to defy gender roles at almost every turn. Women fill powerful roles — an important component for a children’s movie and an almost unheard of occurrence in the superhero category.
“Girls, come on … leave the saving of the world to the men? I don’t think so,” Elastigirl said in the opening scene of the original “Incredibles.” The sentiment carries over in the sequel.
Poised to be the hit movie of the summer, “Incredibles 2” has smashed the record (previously held by “Finding Dory”) for most successful animated film opening in box office history.
With brilliantly-crafted characters, exciting action scenes, an overly-dramatic plot and underlying innuendos, “Incredibles 2” has a little something for everyone.
Grade: A-