Film Weekly

Simply incredible!

June 20 - 26, 2018
667 views
Gulf Weekly Simply incredible!

The Incredibles 2

Starring: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell.

Director: Brad Bird

Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure

Rating: PG

RUNTIME: 118 Mins

 

 

THE sequel to the acclaimed classic film always ends up one of two ways: a complete disaster, or everything you hoped and wanted. In the case of The Incredibles 2, it’s most definitely the latter.

Following from the success of the first installment, we’re back with The Incredible family, with events picking up essentially just where they left off. This time, Bob Parr, alias Mr. Incredible (voiced by Craig T. Nelson) is left at home to care for the family, including the still-developing Jack-Jack (voiced by Eli Fucile).

In the meantime, Helen Parr, alias Elastigirl (voiced by Holly Hunter), is offered the role of poster girl for a new PR campaign that aims to restore the reputation and legal standing of superheroes that in the first movie, were outlawed and shamed.

From the get-go, we’re thrown back into the cool, familiar, pseudo-60s spy film vibe that drove the first film, making it all that more appealing. Bob is disgruntled at his new role as house husband and father, but Helen comes into her own.

It’s a nod to the era where women entered the workforce en masse while dealing with condescension and revulsion from male counterparts as they tried to build their careers.

What’s always been so charming and relatable about The Incredibles is the focus on the tight unit of the family and its various entanglements. There’s more action set pieces in this sequel for sure, but director Brad Bird doesn’t rely on them to replace the most important movie-making ingredient: heart.

It’s not only empowering seeing Helen take on the role of protagonist, but she encourages the same from the sister of her new employer Evelyn and Winston Deaver (voiced by Catherine Keener and Bob Odenkirk respectively). Once you’ve realised that Winston is essentially a Steve Jobs but wearing better suits, it’s clear that Evelyn could double as an anxious Steve Wozniak, doing all the work for little credit.

The script is very strong, and the direction of the film is clear. It doesn’t force anything and doesn’t attempt to be greater and grander than everything we saw in the first film. It lightens the mood in a world gone super-serious, with that recognizable blend of nostalgic, character-driven humour.

New characters such as Voyd, voiced by Sophia Bush, bring a different dimension of superhero to the mix, showing us that greatness may have humble beginnings, and that even superheroes can be starstruck in the presence of others of their kind.

Technology has advanced far enough for us to expect excellent animation, and that’s exactly what we get. Everything is crisper, cleaner, more vibrant, doing an excellent job of bringing us into the world of The Incredibles.

This is an adventure of new heights, and Bird does well not to copy or parody superhero films released in the last 14 years. Instead, we’re embracing the memorable heart of what made the first movie so good: the Parr family and their work to overcome insurmountable odds together.

It is, simply put, incredible.

Now showing in: Cineco, Seef II, Dana Cinemas, Wadi Al Sail, Mukta A2, Al Jazeera

 

Anna’s verdict: 5/5







More on Film Weekly