Review: The Incredibles 2 is super family fun

It has taken 14 years for the Incredibles 2 to reach our screens, but it’s been well worth the wait.

Written and directed by Brad Bird, this lively is a delightful film about a superhero family; mom Helen/Elastigirl, dad Bob/Mr. Incredible, and the children, Violet (Sarah Vowell), Dash (Huck Milner) and baby Jack-Jack who is just beginning to discover his powers.

In one of the film’s moments, Jack-Jack picks a fight with a mangy raccoon on the patio and what follows is a classic, zinging cartoon tussle, punctuated with powdery baby laughter and some crazy physical transformations. It’s all brilliantly executed.

As the film opens, super-powered beings are persona non grata in the city and being a superhero is illegal. Then the head of a multi-millionaire tech corporation, who empathises with the heroes’ plight and who also values their crime fighting contributions, hires Helen to restore their reputation.

While Helen takes to her new job, Bob is stuck at home dealing with maths homework, teenage angst from Violet, and his baby’s fledgling superpowers. Dad has a tough time, especially with this tiny tot who can burst into flames one moment and then clone himself the next. To make matters more arduous, it turns out Jack-Jack can also walk through walls and catapult himself into dimensions. Unfortunately for Bob, Jack-Jack hasn’t manifested the power to change his own nappy and that ‘s still up to his sleep-deprived dad.

The villain of the piece this time is Screenslaver, a character who uses television to hypnotise the nation. When the Incredibles move to tackle him, they do so with preternaturally cool family-friend Lucias/Frozone (Samuel L Jackson) lends a hand, along with a couple of other superheroes who step forward, with abilities such as steel-bending super strength and fire belching.

A joyous romp from start to finish, The Incredibles 2 is a beautifully designed and executed feature. Between the superhero antics, it also has a message for corrupt world leaders and others who profit by greed, while being a sweet family story at heart.