The Incredibles 2: Movie Review

After 14 years, the Incredibles picked up where it left off. We took all our kids–aged 10 to 15 to see the movie, and even the 15-year-old had fun.

In spite of optimism of the last movie, that the Parr family can now reclaim their place in society as proper superheroes, they find themselves back squarely, if not worse than before. I don’t think it was coincidental that the Parr family are considered “illegals” as their struggle to become part of society echoes our present day struggle with the humanitarian crisis created by our immigration policies. But fear not, Pixar barely even skates these issues and it remains squarely as an entertainment family film.

My entire family agrees that part deux of this franchise is better than the first. I particularly liked the struggle, not just of, Helen, as a working mom, but also the struggles of Bob to keep the children alive as he shifts his role from breadwinner to homemaker. Jack Jack was a surprise favorite and all my kids’ favorite scenes involved Jack Jack, and for good reason.

The action sequences were well done–they weren’t there just to blow things up. In fact, one of the reasons Helen was chosen as the “representatives” for the super was that she was less…”bombastic”, thus less explosive in her crime fighting. The last action sequence in the movie was excellent, just the right amount of umpf without giving someone like me whose not big into blow-them-up scenes.

I appreciate the effort that the creators of this movie made, in particular with the role of women. Helen is both literally and figuratively the one who drove this movie, and even the villain is a female. It’s nice to see that women (along with the current hit Oceans 8) are having a particular moment in movies. Who knew that the other half of the movie going crowd like to see women like themselves in movies? And I hope this moment last more than just a moment.