The Incredibles (2004) Review

"You sly dog!  You got me monologuing!"
-Syndrome



In a world where superheroes have been outlawed, Bob Parr, aka Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson), and his wife, Helen aka Elastigirl (Holly Hunter), have been forced to take on normal lives.  Bob works for an insurance company, while Helen stays at home, taking care of their three kids, Violet (Sarah Vowell), Dash (Spencer Fox), and Jack-Jack (Eli Fucile).  Bob hates his new life and is very unfocused as a father, preferring to listen to the police scanner to relive the glory days with his best friend, Lucius Best, aka Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson).  Bob gets contacted by a mysterious woman named Mirage (Elizabeth Peña), who offers him a mission to stop a haywire robot on her bosses island.  Bob defeats it and starts enjoying life again, but Helen starts getting suspicious of what Bob is up to, and Mirage's employer has more sinister motives under the surface.


What Works:

I wasn't a huge fan of The Incredibles when I was a kid and it's probably been a good ten years since I've seen it.  I always enjoyed the action, but the family drama stuff went over my head.  Now that I'm older, I've realized how great this movie is, and the starts with Bob.  His character is great and he is very easy to empathize with.  When we go through a day of his life, we really feel miserable for him, and he is a great, if flawed protagonist.

The rest of the family is also superb.  They feel like a real family and it's a bit too relatable at times.  Each of the Parr's gets a solid character arc and they are all dynamic and interesting characters.  It's fun to watch their dysfunction turn into teamwork.

Next is the character of Syndrome, played expertly by Jason Lee.  This may be a bold statement, but I'm going to go ahead and declare Syndrome the best villain of the Pixar movies.  He has fantastic motivation, phenomenal dialogue and posses a massive threat.  I love his backstory and how excited he his about being evil.  He has some of the best dialogue in the entire movie. 

Finally, shout-out to the director Brad Bird, who also did the voice of Edna Mode, one of the single greatest supporting characters the world has ever seen.


What Sucks:

There are a few places here and there where the animation hasn't aged very well, but that's about all I got.


Verdict:

I didn't love The Incredibles when I was little, only enjoying the action scenes.  Now, I realized the family drama is just as good, if not better than the action.  This movie has great characters, writing, directing, and a top-tier villain, plus a little James Bond parody never hurts.  Even through some of the animation hasn't aged well, this is another golden Pixar movie, and it definitely has got it going on.

 9/10: Great  

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