Les Indestructibles 2

I don't think this sequel is bad, it's a fine watch. An entertaining superhero movie for the family, but it lacks that depth that keeps people coming back to the first movie.

I recently watched the first and second Incredibles. The first has such intensity and great pacing. Many layered thematically and presentably. Moments are allowed to be subtle, stakes are high. I mean, the plane scene get me every time. But this film lacks that depth. It takes the characters for what they are on the surface and runs with that.

It's a shame, because I know it's this way because of corporate pushing. First they struggle with production, and then Disney cuts off a year of their production time, so they have to throw something together.

In short: characters are reset, villain is a shallow bait and switch, characters are boiled down to their surface level traits, new hero designs are so off and underutilized, villain's motivation and plan is thoughtless, a bit too much Jack-Jack, lacking stakes, missing the thoughtful moments, and overall a shallow follow-up.

It's not bad, just lacking, and forgettable. The visuals are nice, I almost feel like they went a little to exaggeration. Akin to pumping up the color on a photo to make it 'look better', but still, credit to the animators. If you remove its tie to the first movie, it would make a decent superhero movie, but that's it. It sadly cannot live up to the first movie, and corporate is to blame.

I cannot believe it has been 14 years since The Incredibles came out. The gap between sequels seems to be getting longer, but the director, Brad Bird, said he wanted to wait until he had the perfect story. There's even a clip before the film starts where actors, Craig T. Nelson, Samuel L. Jackson, and Holly Hunter tell us it will be "well worth the wait"--and they were right!

Though 14 years later, the film takes place minutes later. The first film ends with the Parr family having to fight the Miner who pops up out of the school parking lot, just after Violet gets a date with Tony. The sequel starts with that fight and we see how it backfires as the Parr family get arrested for destroying part of the city and because superheroes are still illegal. Enter our new characters, siblings Winston and Evelyn Deaver, who both want to help superheroes step back into the light, but they believe the way to do that is with Elastigirl. Therefore, our sequel twist is that Mr. Incredible becomes a stay-at-home dad having to babysit Jack-Jack and learning of his dozens of powers, teaching Dash "new math", and inserting his foot into his mouth when he tries to help Violet with her crush--all while Elastigirl is improving superhero relations.

Personally, I thought the movie was predictable but perfect. I loved it for its simplistic plot that was not hard to figure out. I knew right away who the "villain" was and what their motivation was; however, I did not know exactly how the climax would occur, so I was still very much engaged. Not to mention there was enough character development and funny scenes to space out the predictable plot arch.

Often times animated films are more for the adults who are taking the kids, then for the kids themselves. Most kids will not understand half the references, but will still enjoy the overall concept. At the same time, this film comes out when the kids who saw the first are now adults, possibly with kids of their own. Therefore, this film is a great blend of adult and child humor. I found it hilarious, and as a teacher, I particularly loved when Mr. Incredible stays up all night reading Dash's "new math" textbook so he can teach him new math, which was what it was called in the 60s (the time period this film alludes to) and is a shout out to our modern common core confusion.

What I really love about this film is that there is even more Frozone and Jack-Jack, which brings me to my all-time favorite scenes--learning of Jack-Jack's powers, particularly when Violet and Dash call Uncle Frozone over because their dad is going insane from sleep-deprivation and trying to keep up with Jack-Jack. I lost track of how many powers he has and all I will say on the matter is that the best scene in the whole film is when Jack-Jack fights the raccoon.

If you want a light-hearted comedy with some fun action sequences then this film is for you. If you loved the first one then you will love the second one. If you have not seen the first one, what's wrong with you?

Good: The animation for this movie was excellent just like most other Pixar movies, it was funny (especially Jack Jack) and I really liked the action sequences throughout the movie. I liked that the movie showed that parenting (when done right) can be heroic.

Bad: I thought this film has quite a few problems, the biggest problem was that the ending was pretty predictable, I could see it coming. Also, there was a feminism theme with Helen which was okay but at times it seemed to shove it in my face and it got to be annoying. There seemed to be a little too much going on in the movie and a few too many characters.

I'm glad I saw the movie, I just don't think I would see it again anytime soon.

Following the superb 2004 original, the family of animated superheroes are back. This time, they are struggling to regain a good reputation for superheroes (ostracized due to the collateral damage of their heroics) while also getting caught up in fighting a scheme against Screenslaver, a villain who hypnotizes victims with TV screen images.

The idea of Screenslaver seems clever and almost touches on the modern world's collective obsession with technical devices and other forms of media. It doesn't quite get to the heart of the matter and misses an opportunity to be a clever critique of our current times. The theme even seems to be jumbled and incoherent at times.

But overall, the film is saved by funny characters and doing what action-filled, comical, Hollywood blockbusters set out to do: be entertaining. It also succeeds in adding a twist to the genre by having female characters in the centre of hero/villain conflicts. A rather smart move considering the current dynamic in the film industry. - dbamateurcritic

This movie is fantastic, loved the story and the characters. Where this movie loses points is in three separate continuous sequences of intense flashing. My sister is epileptic, and with no warnings we weren't prepared for any of it. She ended up seizing after the first sequence, and we had to cover her eyes for the their two. If you or any family members are sensitive to this sort of thing, AVOID THIS MOVIE.