The Incredibles
Starring the voices of Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson, and Jason Lee.
Rated PG.
Let the Pixar vs. Dreamworks battle rage on. And if this latest Pixar effort, The Incredibles, is any indication, the war will no doubt be action-packed, highly lucrative, and brightly-coloured. Former sitcom actor Craig T. Nelson gives voice to mild-mannered Bob Parr by day and ultra-strong superhero Mr. Incredible by night. His partner in handing out swift justice to criminals is Helen, also known as Elastigirl, a woman with more flexibility than a rubber band, voiced by a sultry-sounding Holly Hunter. Together they fight the forces of villainy in their fair city, somehow finding enough time to fall in love and tie the knot. Unfortunately after an embarrassing mishap with ensuing lawsuits, the Incredibles, along with every other superhero in the nation, are forced to go undercover, assume normal lives, and hide their powers from the world.
Flash forward fifteen years, and the Incredibles are living incognito in the burbs, raising three children: Dash, whose unbelievable speed keeps him off the track team, Violet, a dour teenager with the enviable ability to disappear at will, and newborn baby Jack, whose powers have not yet revealed themselves. The transition from revered hero to working stiff/family man has proven most frustrating for insurance adjuster Bob, who yearns to recapture his glory days, and secretly fights crime on the sly with his best buddy Lucious, formerly known as Frozone (Jackson). But when Mr. Incredible takes on a mysterious top-secret assignment on a remote isle, he unwittingly sets up himself and his family to do battle with an evil genius (Lee) who was an obsessed fan in childhood, and now has an insane scheme to kill every superhero in the world, and turn himself into a legendary hero adored by the masses.
Lacking the sophisticated pop culture references of rival Dreamworks' Shrek movies and the whimsical ingenuity of previous Pixar efforts such as the Toy Story series, The Incredibles does have substantially less adult appeal. Then again, with an unprecedented PG rating due to frequent "action violence," and a run-time of 120 minutes, the longest computer animated film in history, the film could leave younger kids squirming in their seats – or waking up to nightmares later that night. Still The Incredibles makes up for these faults with hyper-kinetic action sequences, shockingly vivid graphics, and sharp satire on comic book heroes, suburban life and social engineering. With CGI movies producing some of the biggest box-office draws in recent years – Dreamworks cashed in with Shark Tale, Shrek 2, and Ants, while Pixar struck gold with Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc., and A Bug's Life – the race for box office and technological supremacy is heating up. It's not the best of the Pixar bunch, but The Incredibles raises the bar on computer animation once again, and leaves the competition one small frame behind. |
