The thing that you quickly learn about this film is that it's gonna have a timeless factor about it. Honestly, that's one of the strongest suits about Pixar as a studio; but even more incredibly its' one of the strongest factors of this film.
It's been 14 years since we've last seen the Parr family. The film's opening sequence wastes no time picking right up where the last film ended. We mean this quite literally. The film's predecessor ended with the introduction of a new villain named The Underminer. This opening sequence of this film allows you to meet said villain. It has a very Age of Ultron feel to its' opening. That's what really plays into the timeless aspect of this film. This sequence brilliantly also sets the stage for the course of the film's conclusion.
A big point of the first film was about pointing out how this world had made superheroes illegal. This course of this film is trying to undo that. A corporation is making a plans to showcase the need for supers in our world. To that, they want to put the spotlight on Elastgirl. Yes, this may be a sequel to the Incredibles, the 2004 Pixar film. However, this is an Elastigirl movie though and though. That's okay.
A big portion of what makes this film so smart, is the subtle social commentaries it gives both its' hero and villain. Elastgirl, the film's protagonist, showcases how our culture has viewed superheroes for the last few years up until recently. As the generation population, we've had females as side characters but never up front and center. We've always acknowledged a singular type of hero: white males. With films like Wonder Woman & Black Panther, we've really seen the genre start to welcome in change. They even make a point to touch on this in the film. Move over boys, it's the girl's time to shine. Shine, she does. Elastigirl is given the spotlight and runs with it. Proving to be one of the film's strongest suits and bringing more depth to an otherwise side character of the first film.
Social commentary also carries over into the villain with The Screenslaver. This villain showcases how we as a culture hold up technology on such a high pedestal. One of the film's strongest action sequences, the villain quotes "We don't talk anymore, we watch talk shows. We don't play games anymore, we simply watch game shows." Really does make you think about whether the generation of Instagram and Snapchat, really are focusing too much on media and not enough on relationships. While having a villain with social commentary is cool and everything, The Screenslaver does fall short as a antagonist. What makes the villain tick, just feels like a rehash of Syndrome in the family's first outing.
Comedy isn't the strongest point of the film either. It's really a hit or miss. However, Jack-Jack is the comedic stand out of this film. His arc of powers and operating in them is one of the strongest and most intriguing points of the film.
Overall, The Incredibles II is a beautifully animated film that delivers on action, strong character arcs like Jack-Jack and Elastigirl, and details. However, with hit or miss comedy and a villain with weak motivation and logic. It stands as a worthy successor to the first film and brings more depth to the mythology of the super family. Here's to high hopes, Disney doesn't wait another 14 years for Incredibles 3.
Final Score: 4.5 / 5
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