INCREDIBLES 2 REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

Those who know me will know that The Incredibles is my all-time favourite Disney/Pixar feature. Because of this, you can imagine my excitement when the director, Brad Bird, announced in 2014 that he would be releasing a sequel to his superhero-based animated feature. Fourteen years after its release and the wait is finally over. 

Everyone's favorite family of superheroes is back in Incredibles 2 - but this time Helen (voice of Holly Hunter) is in the spotlight, leaving Bob (Craig T. Nelson) at home with Violet (Sarah Vowell) and Dash (Huck Milner) to navigate the day-to-day heroics of "normal" life. It's a tough transistion for everyone, made tougher by the fact that the family is still unaware of baby Jack-Jack's emerging superpowers. When a new villain hatches a brilliant and dangerous plot, the family and Frozone (voice of Samuel L. Jackson) must find a way to work together again - which is easier said than done, even when they're all Incredible.

While it's been released to impressive results in the US, Incredibles 2 isn't released in the UK until next month, on July 13th. I was expecting to see it then, however, my local cinema announced they were holding a 'Secret Screening' of a film, which meant audiences wouldn't know what they were watching until the film started. As I sat down in my seat, I wasn't expecting it to be the sequel to one of my favourite films so I was so incredibly happy (no pun intended) when Incredibles 2 popped up on my screen. With a lot of sequels, they tend to disappoint, due to it lacking quality of its predecessor. Fortunately, this can't be said for Incredibles 2 which lives up to expectations and is just as action packed and entertaining as the previous film.

Sequels that are rushed and released within a few years of the first film tend to disappoint, however, because Bird took his time with the sequel for The Incredibles, the overall result is successful. Over the years since its release, Bird has discussed ideas for a sequel but didn't want to rush it and wanted to make sure he had the perfect story. He didn't want to retread the first film, instead, he wanted to pick the film up from where it had left off, with the family of superheroes fighting the Underminer, who makes his appearance right at the end of the first film. This was a good idea as it doesn't feel like fourteen years have passed since we last saw the superheroes. 

The plot for the first film involved Mr. Incredible returning to his superhero lifestyle and he got the most of the action, whilst Helen was the stay-at-home mother, looking after the children. After Mr. Incredible gets into trouble, we do eventually get to see Elastigirl in action as she uses her super stretching abilities to save her husband. Those who wanted to see more of Elastigirl in action will not be disappointed with this sequel. In the first film, superheroes are deemed illegal due to the many lawsuits they faced and the damaged they caused. After failing to capture the Underminer, the family are forced to resume their ordinary lives and, due to the events of the first film that led to their home being destroyed, live in a motel. However, Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl and Frozone are contacted by Winston Deavor (Bob Odenkirk), the owner of DEVTECH, who is also a big superheroes fan. He proposes a publicity stunt to regain the general public's support of supers. Because Elastigirl is considered to be the least destructive of the three, she is selected to undertake the stunt by openly fighting crime in New Urbem. This means that Mr. Incredible will have to be the stay-at-home parent and, in the beginning, he finds this very difficult, due to Violet's boy troubles, Dash's maths homework and the new found discovery of Jack-Jack's powers. This is where the majority of the humour comes from and I'm sure a lot of parents will be able to relate to Bob's struggles as a single parent.

Meanwhile, Elastigirl is enjoying being a superhero once more, however, she soon discovers that there is a villain, known as the Screenslaver who is causing chaos with mind controlling abilities. This becomes her main focus as she is determined to find out who is behind the Screenslaver's mask. Unfortunately, things go wrong leading to Elastigirl succumbing to the Screenslaver's mind controlling powers. This leads to Mr. Incredible, Frozone, Violet, Dash and even Jack Jack teaming up to defeat the Screenslaver. The sequel also introduces us to new superhero characters, including Voyd (Sophia Bush), who can create voids where objects can appear and disappear; Krushauer (Phil LaMarr) who has the power of telekinesis; Helectrix (LaMarr) who has the power of controlling and projecting electrical currents and Reflux (Paul Eiding) who is an elderly Super who has the power of heaving hot lava. While these new superheroes don't get as much screentime, I would like to see them in a future sequel as they each are interesting and have unique superpowers.

We're only six months into 2018 and we've already had our fair share of superhero films released with Marvel dominating the genre and box office with their releases of Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War and Deadpool 2. However, Incredibles 2 proves that there's still room for animated and family friendly superhero films. At the time of writing this review, Incredibles 2 has been released in the US for less than a week and it's already made close to $300 million. With its release in the UK approaching, I'm sure it'll continue to become more successful.

A problem with many animated films is that they are aimed more at young children which mean that adults, who are watching the film with them, may find it boring and predictable. However, one of the praises that most Disney/Pixar films have receive is its ability to appeal to the whole family. They are the definition of family films as there's something for everyone to enjoy, including humour, action and a story that's easy to follow. The same can be said for Incredibles 2. Teenagers will be able to relate to Violet and her relationship issues with Tony Rydinger (Michael Bird), a boy she's had a crush on since the first film. Children will find Dash's energetic behaviour and Jack Jack's powers funny and parents will be able to relate to Bob's struggles of looking after the children alone. 

Despite the impressive success Incredibles 2 has received, it's hard to say whether a third film will be released. The film ends with the family preparing to save the city once more as they don their black masks which could be a hint that there's more to come. A post-credits scene also shows that the Underminer is still at large so, if a third film was to be released, it could focus on the Incredibles defeating him once and for all. While I'm unsure about a third film, it's definitely something I'd be happy to see.

Overall, featuring plenty of action and humour, Incredibles 2 is a sequel that lives up to expectations and doesn't disappoint. 

8/10