Incredibles 2

It’s taken 14 years and an unprecedented superhero boon to bring the Incredibles out of the woodwork to join the multitude of costumed crimefighters inundating our cinema screens.

Pixar are masters of the ‘appeal to the adults trying to distract their young ‘uns with a kid’s movie’ but Incredibles 2 (not entirely sure why they’ve dropped the ‘The’ from the title) feels like it’s aimed squarely at those of us who were children when the original graced our VHS machines.

You could accuse Brad Bird and the Pixar team of cashing in on the comic book craze but their sequel to the 2004 classic keeps firmly to the formula. The big band soundtrack and 60’s spy movie beats are still present and correct and, once again, this is much more a film about family than costumed shenanigans.

When the action beats do come though, they rival anything we’ve seen from Marvel and DC in the last few years. The set pieces here are glorious and they’ve kept the dark tones and blocky animation of the original which perfectly sets the mood.

The film actually sets off at the climax of the original, so best to dust off the first before venturing to the cinema, and so keeps these iconic characters lovingly intact. The Parr family rank high in Pixar’s catalogue and their real world trials and tribulations are the source of the film’s heart and laughs, we relate to and enjoy the company of these characters.

They all get their turn in the spotlight but lead character duties are passed to Helen this time around and Elastigirl, voiced by the wonderful Holly Hunter, thrives in the role. She’s the fulcrum of the family unit and is the most conflicted on the rather Avengers-like government accords that mysterious businessman Winston Deaver (Bob Odenkirk channelling his own Saul Goodman) is trying to overturn to make ‘Supers’ legal again.

We also finally get the full firework display of baby Jack-Jack’s powers, subsequently stealing every scene the little tyke graces, one particular standout encounter with a raccoon maybe rivalling the big man Thanos for superhero scrap of the year.

Villain-wise, we’re not quite competing with Syndrome. Murky motivations and an obvious twist subvert what is fundamentally a good idea but at least they add an additional threat to the Underminer (Pixar ever-present John Ratzenburger.)

As an overall experience though this delivers on expectations. The feel is there, coupled with the heart and the story. It could be Pixar’s greatest ever sequel (and I am counting Toy Story in that.)

It’s everything you’ve been waiting all this time for. Quite simply, Incredible.

5 stars *****