The Incredibles

I don't like this as much as most do, but <em>'The Incredibles'</em> is definitely a fun watch. I enjoy how the film starts out, as it introduces the characters and tells some backstories. However, once the film becomes more serious it kinda loses its edge for me. When it's less so though, it's good. The animation is very nice, even if the humans look a tad iffy especially with their expressions. Another part I don't love is the villain, Syndrome. I feel like he's a bit tame, I never once felt fear/angst from the guy at all. A much more devilish, deceptive bad guy would've been far better. I didn't even realise it's Jason Lee who voices him either, it oddly doesn't sound like Lee to me. Talking of mishearing the voice cast, am I the only one who thought it was Jodie Foster voicing Elastigirl? Violet kinda sounds like Aubrey Plaza too. I think I may need my ears tested... Elsewhere, it's cool to hear (correctly, this time) Samuel L. Jackson as Frozone. Don't get me wrong, this is certainly a film worth watching 100%. I just would've loved a greater threat to the protagonists. Lastly, the end scenes, though amusing, feel like a collective of end credit jokes rolled into one. That's a minor complaint, mind.

I sort of watched them out of order. I wasn't really privy to the existence of The Incredibles until my fiance wanted to rent the sequel...and then I went back and watched the first one. I have to say that I liked 2 more, but only because it looked like a period pop art piece and the first one you really didn't get that feel. It was clearly set in the early 60s, but you didn't get that whole esthetic as much as you did in the sequel and that was the biggest draw I had to it. That being said, it was't bad. Sociopolitically I liked the line about when everyone has super powers no one does. It registered loudly to someone that works in history. So the plot, on that basis, was compelling. And I am sure that if I had seen them in order I'd like it just as much. The sequel, the main draw that sucked me in was the look of the film. Here it was the quasi-family struggles which, again, seemed to be highlighted a little better in the second film. Still, it was there enough, the work-life balance to draw you in, and the absurdity that the work was being a hero was entertaining. As was the reason they had to go underground which, again, was done a little better than when the MCU tried it...but still not elaborated on enough to make it as interesting as it could have once been. In any case, it's still an entertaining cartoon. And you can see where the creators took what worked in the first one and elaborated on the concepts until they popped.