Movie Review: The Incredibles

Guest Column: This article was written by Vivek, a brilliant writer when it comes to articulating ideas. Again, this was written at dogmatrix.com. He now blogs occasionally (how I wish he blogged more!) at india-reality.blogspot.com

This holiday season Pixar entertainment strikes back with a winner. Taut & slick, this is could well be one of the best animation movies from their stable.

Incredible story-line

Incredibles is the story of a family of super-heroes — people gifted with extra-ordinary powers — trying to blend in & live anonymously amongst normal people. On the one hand they have to contend with adulations & expectactions that border on resentment & anger; on the other - people envious of their powers , people trying to make a profit from their do-good nature & from the unintended consequences of their super feats. cheap property Germany

The movie begins with a TV interview which introduces the characters of Mr. Incredible (aka Bob Parr), Elastigirl (Helen Parr) & their family friend Frozone (Samuel L Jackson in a short but delightful cameo). After a brief & sober introduction, the movie moves at a break-neck speed covering the exploits of the do-gooder super-hero Mr. Incredible, which lands him in trouble in more ways than one.

Forced into exile, off their super-hero identities, the just married couple Parrs try to live like a normal human couple in the anonymity of an insurance assessment agent & a house-wife. Fifteen long years that have passed see Bob struggling with mid-life crisis of a boring job, the harsh realities of life vs. his inherent do-good nature and a society that no longer believes in super-heroes. On the other hand he has to contend with a teenage daughter Violet who suffers from inferiority complex despite her powers to become invisible & create impenetrable force-shields; discontented & mischievous young son Dash who despite being the fastest kid on the whole planet is forbidden by his protective parents from participating in sports of any manner. free music download sites, r s t u.

When the whole life seems to fall apart for Bob, relief comes in the form an invitation (message) from a mysterious woman Mirage, who invites Mr.”i” to participate in a top-secret military mission on a secluded island. Mr. “i” faces & nuetralizes a manic robot “Omnidroid 7″ gone awry after a nail-biting–yet comical– fight. While Bob gets busy with his super-secret missions with a new sleek designer outfit, courtesy the chic Super-hero-stylist Edna Mode ; his wife Helen suspects an extra-marital fling.

Soon Mr. “i” finds himself caught in the web of a diabolical plot spun by a super-villain out to rid the world of super-heroes with a malicious intent. Helens mission to save her marriage soon turns into a rescue mission to save Bob. But before saving Mr. “i”, Elastigirl has to save herself & her family first, with or without Edna Mode’s incredible costumes.

About the movie

While Incredibles tries to spoof the super-hero comic books & animated series, it doesn’t limit itself to just that. It tries to explore the life behind the secret identities of the super-heroes. Their troubles & tribulations in blending in & hiding their powers from the rest of the world; which wouldn’t treat them much different than a bunch of freaks, if God forbid their secret identity stood exposed. And learning to live without using those very super-powers which made them “The Incredibles”.

It is amazing to see how Brad Bird (director) transforms this comic-book spoof into a verisimilitude of a super-hero action adventure; all the while keeping it funny, witty & an incredible roller-coaster ride of fantastic computer graphics, sound & special effects. It was a delight to watch technical wizardry balanced by a taut story line & screen play which boasts some of the best punchy dialogues this fall. If you watch carefully you could detect influences/spoofs on various other movies lik e Bond movies, Spider-Man 2, Superman, Star Wars & even Giant Robot & Isaac Asimov! Bird does that without taking the story off-track except may be at the climax.

This movie really has three climaxes in retro fashion. One where you belive the story ends & then the story starts again to end soon. And Viola, it starts once more… It may be that or the studio guys liked Bird’s ‘alternate endings’ so much that they did decide to include them all! But the endings were nevertheless fun.

The actors who did the voice-over to animated characters have done a great job in making them seem real, believable & life like. Of course Bird again steals the show by voice-overing (faking a female voice) for Edna Mode! A plesant surprise indeed, when I came to know of it. It was almost like a lady did it!

Don’t blink your eyes while…

1) Mr. Incredible’s incredible feats at the beginning of the movie
2) Mr. “i”s fights with the Omnidroid (esp. the climactic one)
3) Mr. “i”s attempted escape from the island
4) Return-of-Jedi style confrontation between Incredibles & villain’s hench-men on the island

Of all the scenes I liked…

1) Edna Mode’s (E) reasoning behind ‘No Capes’
2) Frozone’s frantic search for his costume & tiff with with his wife during the Omnidroid attack
3) Elastigirl getting stuck between 2 sliding doors & fighting gangs of villains in different rooms

All highly imaginative, extremely witty & very FUNNY.

Conclusion

Overall a true holidays faimly movie that’s incredibly entertaining. A fine balanced mix of an action adventure & a family sit-com. Don’t miss it.