Trailer- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5qOzqD9Rms
Rating- PG
Genre- Animation/Science Fiction/Action
Warnings- Flashing lights/minor language/disturbing imagery
My blogging hiatus has come to an end, and I am so happy about it!
I find myself to be one of few people who miss having to writes paragraphs and paragraphs of words, but it's such a release for me to express my way of thinking. So what better way to start with my blogging again than with a movie that has a ton of creativity, love, and passion built into it for the past 14 years?
Incredibles 2 is the long-awaited sequel to The Incredibles; both movies were written and directed by Brad Bird and are a part of wide collection of beloved films from Pixar Animation Studios. The first Incredibles film debuted in 2004, and was about a group of superheroes (or "Supers") known as the Parr family with the father, Bob (Craig T. Nelson), yearning to live a life of fighting crime after years of not doing so because of a ban on supers thanks to the collateral damage caused by crime-fighting. Bob and his wife, Helen (Holly Hunter) managed to live a simple life in a Suburban town with their three children: Violet, Dash (Sarah Vowell and Huck Milner) and Jack-Jack, but soon enough a figure from Bob's past threatens to tear him and his family's life apart.
This sequels takes place immediately after those events in the first film, and it continues on with the struggles for Supers to be accepted again in society. We see the Parr family go through the challenges of being discriminated and also more domestic issues between one another that a lot of people could relate to.
Still, it bothered me to see so much time pass for one sequel that I didn't even think needed to be created. I would've been content with The Incredibles series ending at just one film. So did I think after all of this time the sequel to one of the most popular Pixar movies was worth the wait or did this anticipation lead up to nothing super incredible?
Whereas the first film revealed more about Bob and his adventures getting back into crime fighting, this movie switches to Helen's point of view where she is persuaded to fight again to help show citizens that supers do provide more safety than damage. While Helen ventures through the city as her former alias, Elastigirl, Bob stays with the children and discovers that parenting can be just as difficult as saving the world- maybe even more so.
I think the plot provided a great avenue for the writers to expand more on Helen's character as she is no longer just the housewife- not that I found that to be the case. It was always clear that she was amazing on her own, it's just now we can see that being presented so much more as I found this movie to be like 85 percent Elastigirl and her revival in the modern world.
I enjoyed her scenes very much as they were filled with action and mystery because for me, I think from the start I had this idea of who this movie's villain would be even when it seemed clear, because I'm so skeptical of people ever since plot twists became a thing. When you do discover who the villain is, it can come off as a surprise. I did guess this person a few times but then there would be moments where I doubted myself and disregarded that theory. Do I think this villain will be more popular than Syndrome from the first movie? Judging from what I've seen on the internet, I would say yes.
Elastigirl was fun to watch while Bob and the kids' scenes were more close to home since we get to witness Violet's romantic debacle and Jack-Jack's multitude of powers being brought to life more. Dash would be the child that I would say fades in the background out of the three since I didn't find him to have any major problem or story arc, but he did act as a child typically does which is loud, talkative, and of course fast.
I was impressed with how they handled Bob's character, especially because I feared from the progression of the story that he would end up being this stubborn alpha male that can't allow his wife to do what she wants without feeling inadequate. Sure he expresses jealously over Helen being able to fight crime, but you'd be able to tell that he doesn't put her down for it nor does he try to one up her.
When I say he spends time raising the kids, that's pretty much all he does throughout most of the movie and it's not as easy as one may think. I liked that moral, that parenting is a heroic act in itself and parents should be proud of themselves for being able to handle it: single parent or not, one child or many.
The movie puts up a clear message in the beginning that there is a epilepsy warning for those prone to seizures, so that's a major warning that should be taken seriously. Other than that, personally I found some scenes to be a bit disturbing for some viewers. The movie does include hypnosis and for me that is not something I enjoy watching.
I understand why it was included, and it does work well for the storyline, it's just for me I find it scary to think of someone unwillingly losing control of their own mind, therefore if that's something that disturbs you, just be wary of it. Nothing is extremely violent, but I did find it to be reaching for what I considered to be a children's movie. Although, as Bird said in a tweet in response to a concerned mother about why there was adult language in the film, "...It is NOT a 'kid's movie'. It is animated, and rated PG." Speaking of adult language, it's not as vulgar as you think. I only heard words like, "sucks" and "crap" and it wasn't overly used at all; you can miss it easily.
I already spoke enough about my opinions on Bob's character, so I'll move right along to Helen. I always liked Helen's character and I loved it even more in this movie. I'm glad I got to see her in action, and apparently so did the side characters.
I felt some serious tension between Helen and a couple of new characters; I feel weird for saying it but I felt it very strongly. I guess that shows how well the relationships are crafted as I find only a few people behave that way while others not so much. I feel like the side characters they pushed into the forefront were really stuck there because I love them very much, but the others just seem to be there and I forgot about a couple of them after the movie was over. Regardless, there will probably be toys of them in the Disneystore and a spinoff on the Disneychannel in the works.
Now onto the kids! Violet seems to have captured everyone's hearts on the internet, and I would be one of them. Like Helen, I always liked Violet. Dare say, she was probably my favorite family member and in this sequel she appears more outspoken but also more angry. Granted, what occurs in the film would justify her anger I felt bad for her having to deal with things out of her control. Still, I think since Violet is a teenager she is the embodiment of many teens and young adults who are dealing with the consequences of the older generation and are starting to question things about people so she does not blindly follow a misguided person and group.
I don't have much to say about Dash only that he was less annoying to me this time around. Jack-Jack on the other hand had a lot more screen time because there are so many powers of his to explore that it takes him having a ball of potential up to new levels. The movie points out that this represents his unknown potential which is an interesting take on how to see babies, but what I was more impressed by was what they implied about how Bob had to handle these powers- ergo how parents show raise their children. With a child so powerful, the best way to help him is to take care of him properly and not just feed into whatever he wants. Without raising a child properly, all of that potential would go to waste.
The animation was gorgeous and I can tell a lot more time was put into making it look more effortless and sleek. Even the tiniest of details like the strands of hair and the fabric of the clothing was noticed and I loved it. The action was stellar, and the final fight scene was my favorite. I felt the build up to this intense finale and it was all that I wanted and more. When looking back on it, this movie can be interpreted in a lot of ways with various plot points that are addressed, like them mentioning feminism, the privilege rich people have to get out of doing punishment, the villain's motivation, but I'll talk only about what I interpreted from supers being banned.
I could be wrong, but I think the whole banning and why people are afraid of supers returning boils down to how many people look at police officers in America. With all of this crime going on happening because of officers killing people for no reason- majority of them African American-people have grown more afraid of them. I even know of friends who are terrified if a police car is behind them while they drive just because they think that because they are dark-skinned, they will get shot.
People are losing more and more faith in this form of authority to the point where life just seems better without any officers to protect us because lately they seem to be doing more harm than good. However, this is similar thinking to how people may see people like me: African-Americans who are just ghetto and poor or caucasians who are all racist and privileged.
Something I don't like is stereotypes being placed on people, and these stereotypes are harmful to those that don't fit it. There are people who are outside of this mold and are so much more than what people may expect of them. With that being said, I think the sequels implies very subtly how the police can still be used for good because there are great people out there who do a great job at keeping their citizens safe. There are some bad eggs, but that doesn't make up the entirety of that group. So that's what Elastigirl represents, the officer that shows a personal look into the efforts needed to protect her town so she can show that her intentions are just and different from what people feared for so long.
Did I think too much into it? Not sure, maybe watch the movie so you can decide.
Incredibles 2 took a long time to arrive, but I think it was worth the wait. The story was exciting to follow and I think I might like it more than the first one, the characters were all lovable and relatable and I would watch it again if I had the chance and buy it on DvD when it's available. It's a thrilling film for children and adults alike that can be great for a movie night.
I give "Incredible 2" a 5 out of 5 stars.
P.S There is a Pixar short before the movie called "Bao" written and directed by Chinese-Canadian American artist Domee Shi. This 8 minute story presents a woman who cares for an anthropomorphic dumpling that becomes her son. Without spoiling much, this is a beautiful short that looks into the struggles of letting go of your children in order for them to grow up and be an individual because for nearly every parent their child will always be their baby. The dumplings made in the short looked so delicious; I wish they would've served them at my theater and the dumpling baby was the cutest little thing! I'd watch this one again too.
NOTE: I'm trying to improve on my editing skills for Youtube, so I would love it if you can watch my mini videos. This is the one for Incredibles 2. Thank you!
Link- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeU4tpZYd5E
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
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Did Tony always look that cute? He looks skinner and his hair looks darker. He reminds me of youtuber, Connor Franta.
Violet looks a lot younger. I'm glad the animation studios fixed that thing with the bags under her eyes. I always found that to be distracting.
I see Helen or Mrs. Incredible still looks amazing.
Is this going to be our villain? The guy who invited Frozone to some meeting? If so, that's very predictable.
So are they just going to disregard the fact that if The Incredibles didn't do anything The Underminer would have done more damage to the town and probably got away with even more stuff? That's like saying:
"You shouldn't have stopped that shooter, it caused a lot of damage to the building!"
"But I stopped him from shooting one person"
"That doesn't matter. You caused damage to the building"
Violet is taking a stand with her parents. Part of me likes it while another part of me is saying that that behavior could be seen as disrespectful. Although children should have a right to ask questions...
Bob is a freaking thrill junkie. He just got out of this life or death scenario that nearly killed his whole family yet he's ready to jump on the next opportunity to fight.
There has to be a plot twist somewhere...Winston and Evelyn's father didn't die, did he? Also, why would they leave the mother alive if she was right in the bed? Evelyn said she died months later, so that means she was left alive. That could be a lie though.
Is there a thing with Helen and Evelyn? Obviously Helen wouldn't take the bait, she's married but I felt something there with that look they shared.
Poor Violet, now she has to completely win over Tony's attention again. Tony has a really chill attitude though about a girl writing on his locker in permanent ink.
I read this part online: Bob's superhero ending career involved stopping a train and Helen's superhero revival began with stopping a train. That's an extra kick in the pants for Bob on why he feels so insecure.
That Jack-Jack and raccoon fight was awesome! From the powers I saw, my favorite is the multiplying one where there's more than one Jack-Jack. By the way, I'm assuming these powers aren't genetic at all since every Parr child has a totally different power from their parents. That's kind of scary, you can't really predict what they'll come out with.
I saw screenshots of Violet's freakout and I was scared that they turned her into this bratty teenager, but after seeing why she did that I think it was justified. Not to say if anyone else did that they'd get away without getting yelled at or beaten by their parent.
The message of the Screenslaver can be overshadowed by watching Elastigirl finding his headquarters and I found myself almost fading away from the message to pay attention to what was happening on screen. I don't know if it was intentional, but it was clever for Screenslaver to talk about how people using technology distracts that from the dangers in their world while people were probably distracting by what was on screen to pay attention to anything he said.
I really like how they're treating this whole Jack-Jack situation. Just because he's a very powerful child doesn't excuse him from being treated like the child that he is. It's not to say adults should demean his intelligence, but come on- he's just a baby and as a baby he should still be taught right from wrong. Without that, his powers becoming worthless to the good of mankind.
I knew it was Evelyn, kind of? I mean, I suspected her a few times but then I changed my mind. I am surprised it is only Evelyn in on this malicious route and not Winston as well.
The only time we see Bob and Helen kiss and it's when Helen is hypnotized and taking Bob off guard so he could be hypnotized too. That sucks, because the last kiss in the first movie was so touching this kind of dampens things.
So is all this build up Elastigirl being in the forefront just for nothing? This was really all about how the kids were right and they are stronger than the parents? I know that's not the case, I'm just a little upset over all of the adults being controlled.
Why do I already know that people are going to interpret Helen foolishly leaning towards Evelyn as sexual? Right, cause I found a drawing like that on Tumblr.
Why is Void scared that she'll mess up with the portals this time? She was perfectly fine throughout the movie.
I feel sad that Violet had to redo her meeting with Tony and all, but the more I think about it the more I am okay with it. After all, the only interaction they had before he lost his memory was during Dash's race so there wasn't much to lose after all.
Isn't it okay for Tony to know that Violet is a superhero now? I mean, superheroes are no longer banned so it's not an issue.
The end credits don't have any extra scenes but they do have theme songs for Mr. Incredible, Frozone, and Elastigirl that are catchy. I don't know if that's worth it enough to wait till all the credits roll.
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