The Incredible Family

Bob Parr as Mr. Mom

“The Incredible Family”

A Review of The Incredibles 2 by Nick Olszyk

MPAA Rating, PG

USCCB Rating, A-II 

Reel Rating, Four Reels            

            The dearth of sequels and extended franchises have tired many, but there was one addition I had been eagerly awaiting over a decade to see: The Incredibles 2. The first Incredibles was a landmark in two genres and one of the films I use in its entirety for the classroom. Happily, Brad Bird has produced another smash hit full of action, humor, and heart. If falls short of its predecessor, since The Incredibles was probably one of the best films of all time, I won’t hold it against him.

            Incredibles 2 starts literally where the first picture left off with the Underminer monologuing his villainy to a terrified city while the Parr family begins to suit up. Bob – also known as Mr. Incredible – spent the last film learning to accept his family’s help only to fail miserably in the first test of that lesson. Fortunately, telecommunications giant Winston Deavor (Bob Odenkirk) appreciates the Parrs’ attempt and invites Helen – Bob’s wife – to moonlight as a superhero again on his bill. Deavor hopes this will “set things right” and gain support to repeal anti-superhero laws, which he blames for the death of his parents at hands of criminals.

            Helen’s new job has both positive and negative consequences. On the one had, Helen can again embrace her role as Elstigirl, the sleek and sexy crime fighting machine, complete with an awesome motor cycle and “angsty” new outfit. Where Bob fails, she succeeds – bringing Deavor close to his goal and encouraging underground supers to come “out of the phone booth.” One the other hand, Bob – with his 400 lb muscular frame – embraces the challenges of a stay-at-home dad. These hilarious attempts at parenting will resonant with any father as he deals with Violet’s teenage mood swings, Dash’s insane common core math homework, and Jack-Jack’s development of strange and frustrating new powers.

            Toying with the family dynamic of the Parr family is easily the film’s biggest strength. Helen is a more socially acceptable hero than Bob but feels out of place element while Bob cannot comprehend that, despite his best efforts, he can’t fix every problem with brute force. They have a fantastic relationship as each would prefer the other’s role yet is willing to do what is best for the family. There’s isn’t any talk of gender roles, social conformity, feminism, or mansplaining – just how to best serve their common covenant.

            It is often said that “a hero is only as good as his villain.” At first, Elstigirl busies her time catching bank robbers, purse snatchers, and other boring exploits but soon the central antagonist appears. Dubbing himself the Screenslayer, he hacks into television signals to hypnotize others into doing his bidding. Like Syndrome of the previous film, Screenslayer wants to eradicate the world of heroes but while former did so to level the playing field, Screenslayer claims to be helping humanity by taking away their crutches and achieving their true potential.

            It’s a dark and potent philosophy that echoes a familiar atheistic adage: “if you were choking in a restaurant, would you want someone to pray for your wellbeing or perform the hemlock maneuver?” The Church has answered this objection in many ways throughout her history. My favorite is Bishop Barron “both/and” response. Catholicism is an incarnational religion that affirms God’s providence through human endeavor. God calls on us to prayer and trust through a life lived in action. Heroes do not keep one complacent but rather inspire greatness. If that creates over-dependency, it is a fault on person, not the ideal.

            The themes, action, visuals, and writing do not blend as seamlessly as before, but it is still a film that promotes courage, honesty, and marital love based on complementarity and sacrifice rather than emotions. Early in the film, Bob’s friend tries to encourage him: “done properly, parenting can be a heroic act.” If the Synod on Youth needs a good tool to encourage teen Catholics to brave the marriage vocation, The Incredibles 1 and 2 would make a great excellent double feature.