See Tim’s review of “Incredibles 2” with Adrienne Broaddus on KARE 11.

“Incredibles 2” (PG) 

Writer-director Brad Bird pulls off the amazing feat of making a sequel equal if not superior to the original film with Disney-Pixar’s “Incredibles 2,” an outrageously entertaining follow-up to the brilliant, blockbuster original from 2004. A funny, fast-paced, family-friendly film that’s full of heart, “Incredibles 2” has all the magic that made the original such a joy, and benefits from 14 years of burgeoning technology to make it an engaging theatrical presentation that can’t be missed.

Picking up with the events that ended the first “Incredibles” movie 14 years ago, the gifted Parr family — the strongman Bob (voice of Craig T. Nelson), stretchy Helen (Holly Hunter), invisible Violet (Sarah Vowell) and lightning fast Dash (Huck Milner) — along with Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson) find themselves in showdown with the supervillain Underminer (John Ratzenberger), but when all is said and done, half the city is left in ruins.

Hear Tim’s review of “Incredibles 2” with Tom Barnard on “The KQ Morning Show” (segment begins 3 minutes in).

Relieved of their undercover duties in the National Supers Agency (NSA) the outlawed superheroes find themselves no longer protected by the government and are facing hard times when  they are approached by a billionaire industrialist, Winston Deaver (Bob Odenkirk) and his inventor sister, Evelyn (Catherine Keener), with an interesting proposition. If they undertake a series of covert missions to show the good that supers can do with their powers, it will change the public’s perception and result in the lifting of the decades ban on superheroes. The plan seems to work wonders at first, until Evelyn has a revelation that there’s a stranger lurking behind the scenes with much more sinister intentions.

While “Incredibles 2” can’t elude a semi-predictable storyline, Bird quickly makes up for the film’s shortcomings by defying the formula that generally plagues superhero movies. Aptly timed to shine in the long-overdue age of female empowerment, “Incredibles 2” highlights Evelyn, aka Elastigirl, as the superhero chosen by the Deavers to carry out the dangerous missions, while Bob, aka Mr. Incredible, is put in charge of the kids and their 1-year-old baby brother Jack-Jack (Eli Fucile), who he discovers has multiple gifts.

LISTEN: Tim reviews “The Incredibles 2 with Jordana Green on WCCO-AM (Segment begins 9 minutes in). CLICK to listen!

Already exasperated by taking on all of Evelyn’s chores — which he clearly took for granted — Bob is put to the test as a parent. Suddenly, he has to deal with pressures of helping Dash with his homework and getting the kids ready for school, and worst of all, Bob has to confront the unpredictable teenage angst of Violet. As a result, fans will discover that like the first film, “Incredibles 2” focuses just as much on the importance of family as it does the Parr’s duties as superheroes, and it does so with an incredible amount of heart.

As entertaining as all the characters are in in “Incredibles 2,” it’s Jack-Jack who steals the show in every scene that he’s in, and thankfully for the audience, he’s in an ample amount of them. His actions as a bumbling baby are entertaining as is, but when you add 17  superpowers that he can’t quite control on top of that, the result is high comedy. Also hilarious is the return of the Parr’s superhero costumer Edna Mode (Bird), who, when joined by Jack-Jack, ends up in one of the film’s most hilarious scenes. All told, “Incredibles 2” is not only one of the best superhero movies of the year, it’s one of the best movies of 2018, period. Let’s just hope we don’t have to wait another 14 years for another incredible movie experience.

Lammometer: 9 (out of 10)

Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.

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