Way Too Late at the Movies: Incredibles 2

I think I remember seeing this movie shortly after it came out and thinking, "Yeah, the original was better."

Then I saw it among the offerings at Disney+ tonight and thought, "I don't remember much about it. I should give it another go, Or a go, because maybe I haven't seen this one."

Going to say it would be better unseen.

Simply put, it isn't a Brad Bird movie. Brad Bird likes message movies, but he doesn't sacrifice story or action for the message. The original Incredibles and other films of his, like the Iron Giant, keep the message but also keep the story moving briskly.

Incredibles 2 relied too much on the goodwill generated by the first movie and sacrificed the story as other stuff took center stage.

And why does the villain, Evelyn, look like whatsername from Megamind?

I'll be honest -- I was surprised to see Brad Bird wrote the story and directed the film. It seemed phoned in, not like his other stories.

It might have done better with tighter editing, because I'l be honest there were times it was boring. It's visually pleasing to look at, and Michael Giacchino's music is as good as it was in the first film. But the story dragged.

It feels like it suffered the same as Pirates of the Caribbean. The first movie in that series was excellent. But I gave up on the series when the best parts of the second film were retreads of funny bits from the first film.

The Incredibles didn't need a follow-up, or at least it certainly didn't need this one.

Update: OK, this is what bugs me: The villain's motivation is muddled. She wants the Supers to remain illegal because her father's Super-worship led to her patents' death. But as the Screen whatever, she chooses to go with the lame "you crave pap because you live your lives through it vicariously" which lends NOTHING to her anti-Super plot. She could have used her tech to destroy the Supers without the baggage of a message. It's the Indiana Jones Would Have Had No Impact on the Outcome to Raiders of the Lost Ark Had He Not Been There gambit.

Syndrome was a much better villain because his message was his sole motivation. He was also a much more interesting character.