Watched Incredibles 2.
It was a fun and intelligent film, and it’s very hard for me to say which one I like more. The first one had a better villain and plot, and this film has a stronger, emotional core. Similar to the Guardians of the Galaxy films, whose first entry was more story-driven and the sequel was character-driven.
The film starts off like Ghostbusters 2 (1989). It was as if the actions in the previous film didn’t sway public opinion and people still disapprove of the superheroes. From there, the mom gets a hero job and the dad has to look after the family. I give the script writer a lot of credit for not taking the ‘dumb dad’ joke route, like overcooking dinner or forgetting to send kids off to school. Bob Parr is a capable man who has genuine family problems with three (super-powered) kids, and any real father or guy can understand his struggle. The kids, especially the baby, do not fall into the same cheap slapstick either that you might see in lesser kids films. It is clear that the people behind the film respect the audience and assume that we are smart. And I really appreciate that.
The special props go to the mom, Parr, aka Elastigirl. She is the hard working mom who does all the cool action sequences in the film and financially supports the family, and (no spoilers, but female characters are more prominent in the main plot, at least four). The marketing, let alone the film itself, never made a big deal out of it. That’s the attitude I appreciate in a female-centric film; it should not be treated as special, it should be normal.
The emotional investment to the family is there, maybe stronger than the first one, but the villain is obvious and with weak motivation. I am not going to spoil it, but his plan does not make sense and ruins the story if you really start thinking about it.
Besides the story and characters, the digital animation has evolved a lot. Fabric and hair are insanely detailed and natural, which are most apparent technical advancements.
On artistic level, the character animation is even more creative than the last one and the team is totally comfortable with superhero choreography. I had more fun watching the fight scenes of this film than Black Panther (2018) or Captain America, which are just dudes punching.
Brad Bird said that he wouldn’t do a sequel unless he comes up with something as good as the original. He didn’t want to do a sequel simply because it was popular. It took 14 years to make it happen, and this certainly has a big heart. 9⁄10.
The Incredibles was arguably the best Fantastic 4 film, and I think this film is a tie. After a little distance, Roger Corman’s unreleased pilot version ranks as the 3rd for its ‘so bad, so good’ entertainment value, followed by the two Jessica Alba versions. And I refuse to acknowledge that there was another one.
—toshi omagari
Flommist Toshi Omagari fights many things, most recent of which is the auto-correction of his title to florist. Copyright © 2018 Toshi Omagari.
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