Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
The Rotunda Online
The Rotunda
Monday, July 28, 2025

The Reel Life: "Incredibles 2"

f4f0b1f28c2e864a1a7eec8358eade7a

Photo Courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, and Pixar Animation Studios.

Coming 14 years after the original, “Incredibles 2” enters into a world saturated with iron men and American captains. When the original was released, super hero films were occasional and not very good. The world has changed a lot since then, most evident by the fact that this sequel releases just a few months after “Infinity War,” a giant space opera of a super hero film. Do the Parr’s and their world still work well in this new day and age?

Gorgeously animated, “Incredibles 2” does in fact work quite well. Everything about this retro yet futuristic world pops with color and life. The advancements made in the last 14 years of animation haven’t changed designs or characters, instead making them even more beautiful than they’ve ever been.

Color in particular is an impressive standout detail. A chase scene halfway through the film is almost entirely orange and red, the Parr’s new house is a lush gorgeous sight to behold, and the city skylines put on display are frame worthy.

None of it gets in the way of the characters however. Everyone is still just as super as ever, and the new focus on Elastigirl is pulled off excellently. That plot helps to showcase the film’s best aspects, its details.

Instead of saddling her with the lead 'just because', writer/director Brad Bird comes up with a legitimate and logical reason for her to take center stage. It shows how much care has gone into this world and it makes the film so much better for it.

Michael Giacchino’s score pulse through some of the most fluidly animated and most fun action scenes of the year, and it speaks to the movie’s strong sense of fun and entertainment. Compared to the first film, which brought up heavy ideas of power, right and wrong, and the value of the everyday person, this sequel is a lot less intense and far more family friendly. But it doesn’t matter, because its so damn entertaining anyway.

It almost feels as though Bird wanted to get the serious stuff out of the way first, so he could let lose and bring out the absurdities in his world with the sequel. Because let it be known, the film is supremely weird. But it revels in it in the best ways possible, integrating its weirdness into the plot in clever ways.

However, “Incredibles 2” does have one flaw. Its villain is extremely predictable, especially when compared to the first film’s. To clarify, the villain itself is well thought out, well performed and well written. But, it's also obvious who it is by the time it's revealed. To Bird’s credit, he does deliver a few twists that help to hoodwink the audience, but the result isn’t nearly as jaw dropping as it could have been.

That is but one blemish on an impeccable record though, as “Incredibles 2” does indeed managed to live up to its very lofty hype. This is a world and an adventure that fits together elegantly, with each of the details coming together in an extremely satisfying way. It's just a fun, just as sweet, and just as smart as the original. Yes, this villain is more predictable, but if that’s the worst thing about “Incredibles 2,” and it is, then that’s a pretty incredible feat. 4/5

Photo Courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, and Pixar Animation Studios.