The Incredibles (1 & 2)

THE INCREDIBLES (PG)
D: Brad Bird
Disney/Pixar (John Walker)
US 2004
115 mins

Animated

W: Brad Bird
Mus: Michael Giacchino


voices of: Craig T. Nelson (Bob Parr / Mr. Incredible), Holly Hunter (Helen Parr / Elastigirl), Samuel L. Jackson (Lucius Best / Frozone), Jason Lee (Buddy Pine / Syndrome), Sarah Vowell (Violet Parr), Spencer Fox (Dash Parr)

A decade on and still awaiting a sequel, Pixar's take on superhero movies certainly deserves one. 
It may lack the belly laughs which some of the animation giants other films may provide, but it certainly doesn't lack fun, adventure and excitement. 
The story follows a family of superheroes who are forced into retiring from saving the planet from crime and chaos, living their lives as normal civilians and keeping their superhero identities hidden, but the temptation becomes too much for the husband & father, Mr. Incredible, who goes out looking for crimes to solve and bad guys to thwart, but he bites off more than he can chew when he gets to grips with a super villain, a crazy scientist who once idolised all the superheroes as a boy, but now, with the aid of giant robots, is set on destroying all of them.
With her husband missing, "Elastigirl" and the kids spring into action to save Mr. Incredible, as well as saving the planet from certain doom.
The movie may not have done the business like the rest of the studio's output, but it still clawed in enough to justify another film, especially since it ended on such a cliffhanger.
8/10

The Incredibles
The Incredibles

INCREDIBLES 2 (PG)

D: Brad Bird

Disney/Pixar (John Walker & Nicole Paradis Grindle)

US 2018

125 mins


Animated


W: Brad Bird

Mus: Michael Giacchino


voices of: Craig T. Nelson (Bob Parr / Mr. Incredible), Holly Hunter (Helen Parr / Elastigirl), Sarah Vowell (Violet Parr), Huck Milner (Dash Parr), Samuel L. Jackson (Lucius Best / Frozone), Bob Odenkirk (Winston Deavor), Catherine Keener (Evelyn Deavor)


14 years after the original Incredibles movies comes this long-awaited sequel, bound to be amongst the biggest box office successes of 2018.

The story follows on directly from the cliffhanger ending from the original film, but doesn't take too long to go on a different direction altogether. The plot follows the Parr family, still living in secrecy due to a worldwide ban on superheroes, but this one includes some social justice politics which Disney seem to love shoving down everyone's throats, going by their recent output.

Bob Parr and his wife Helen are introduced to the Deavors, an entrepreneurial brother and sister team who aim to make superheroes legal again, but only want Elastigirl's help to do it, leaving Mr. Incredible at home to watch the children, making this practically a gender switch on the original film. Now, I have no problem that studios are trying to push strong female leads. After all, movies do need strong characters regardless of gender, but they're really pushing it too hard now, to the point that it's becoming forced. 

Despite the standard of animation being absolutely perfect and some genuinely funny laugh-out-loud moments and plenty of action scenes bound to excite, I did feel quite disappointed that, given the length of time between the two films, the best story they came up with was basically a retread of the original movie.

Rest assured, this is a highly entertaining animated film which the whole family will enjoy, but it simply isn't incredible.

6/10


Incredibles 2
Incredibles 2