I waited 14 years for 'The Incredibles 2' and I am a happy camper

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Story 

The story picks up from where the first movie ends. The Incredibles are trying to stop the Underminer from wreaking havoc in Metroville. They manage to stop his drill from destroying city hall but he escapes. The amount of collateral damage caused to the city prompts the government to shut down the Superhero Relocation Act meaning that the Parr family without any financial backing or support. Bob (Mr Incredible), Helen (Elastigirl) and Lucius (Frozone) are then approached by Winston Deaver and his sister Evelyn who want to bring superheroes back into the spotlight and make them legal again and that they want Elastigirl to be the face of the movement.
While Helen is out being a hero Bob is the one at home with the kids. While advocating for the legalisation of superheroes, the Incredibles also have to stop the Screenslaver who can hypnotise and control people through screens.

This story feels like a continuation of the story from the first movie. At no point does it feel rushed or forced and that falls down to the director Brad Bird making it clear that he wouldn't make a sequel unless it was as good or better than the first one.
When I heard that Elastigirl is going to be the focus of the movie, I was very excited but also a little apprehensive, I was afraid having her front and centre would feel like the movie was going to tell the same story as the first one with the roles reversed and that's not the case. There is a real viable reason for Helen to be the face of the movement.

In this movie, you see more of the characters and their motivations and you see growth from the first movie to this one, even though no real time has passed in between movies.

Acting

The voice acting in this movie is amazing. You get so invested in what the characters are saying, and how they're saying it, that you forget that there are actors recording the lines in a booth. That's a testament to the voice actors and how smoothly, they delivered their lines.

Holly Hunter shines in this movie, she is the real star. Even though Elastigirl is the one who goes back to work, at no point does it ever feel like this her movie. You can tell from the way her character was written to the way her lines are delivered that Elastigirl puts her family first. She always felt like an underrated character to me in the first one and here we get to see her use her powers as well as her intellect to fix problems. Given the fact that she's flexible she able to adapt to situations better than her husband.

Craig T. Nelson brings a lot of strength (I know what I said) to Mr. Incredible and in this movie, we get to see him out of his depth. We see less of him as a superhero and more of a father who wants to take care of his kids while reassuring his wife that he can deal with the task at hand. We also get to see him deal with not being the centre of attention as he was in the first movie and how that bothers him. It's always interesting to see movie characters struggle with themselves.

Frozone is the comedic relief of this movie and usually when I say that I mean that in a negative way as that character doesn't add anything to the story, they are just there to react to plot with jokes and quips, but that isn't' the case with Frozone. It feels like Brad Bird let Samuel L.Jackson be Samuel L. Jackson and I'm not complaining. In this movie, we get to see more of Frozone's powers and correct me if I'm wrong but Frozone might be the most powerful hero in the movie.
We don't get to see more of Frozone's wife and I was hoping we would, but we did but we did get a hilarious line that referenced this

So I guess Brad Bird is forgiven.

The kids in this move feel like actual kids, Violet coming to terms with her powers and what it means to be a super. You see her become more confident in this film, more so than the first one. She begins to own her powers and those moments are incredibly (I'm not doing this on purpose I promise) fulfiling. 

Dash doesn't need any help in the confidence department and he just looks like he is having fun throughout the film, that kind of energy is infectious and when he's excited you're excited. We also get to see Jack-Jack in action and he's one of the cutest movie babies I've seen in a long time, much like Dash you feel his excitement, you want him to do whatever he wants because he's so cute and fun to watch.

I have to shoutout Edna Mode who is my favourite character, her dynamic with all the other characters in the movie is hilarious, especially with Jack-Jack. Even though she isn't in the movie for very long, she has a lasting impact and incredible (Ha-Ha) screen presence. She also delivers some of my favourite lines in the entire movie.

Writing/Direction

This movie brings back the same director and writing team. In my Mission Impossible: Fallout review which you can read here, I said having the same team behind the camera creates a sense of continuity with the story and that's the case here. The story feels like an organic progression.

The writing is brilliant, there are many scenarios where characters react how many of us would react to the situations they're in. Lucius makes a comment about Jack-Jack and I would have said exactly the same thing. You also see different facets of the characters, their motivations as well as how they feel about each other, be that in a positive or negative way.

One thing I love about the first Incredibles movie is the underlying themes the movie has, it covers more mature ideas like a mid-life crisis and infidelity. There are also more underlying themes in this movie as well, it deals with moral questions involving the supers and the idea that their existence insights conflict.

What makes the Incredibles movies stand out, is the focus on family, the Parrs are a family before they're superheroes and that's what resonates so much with the movie's fans. This film is no different, you see Bob and Helen's relationship grow in this movie, like it did in the first one. You also see Bob and Helen's relationship with their kids especially Jack-Jack who they discover has powers (he is a 'Jack of all trades', get it?)

I do have one criticism of the story and that is the fact that there are similar story beats from the first movie, however, I didn't feel like I had seen the film before.

Animation

In the 14 years since the first film was released, animation has changed and improved and you can see the difference when you put the two films together side by side. The beauty of this film comes in the detail. You can see the lines in the characters faces, their reactions and movements look more realistic and human (even though some of them are deliberately exaggerated for comedic effect.) You can even see the lint on their clothes which look organic, that attention to detail is one of the factors that set this film apart for me.

This film is beautifully animated, it looks like it was shot with a camera rather than animated. There are tracking shots and the way the "camera" pans makes it looks smoother and more organic. Having an animated film means the colour grading is better, the colours look rich and vibrant.

Score/Soundtrack

The score was done by Michael Giacchino (my favourite film composer), who happens to be the mastermind behind the score in the first movie. What I love about having the same composer come back for a sequel means they're allowed to build on what they created.
It has to be said that the Incredibles score is one of my favourites, so I was very excited going into this movie because I wanted to see what he (Michael Giacchino) would do and he did not disappoint.  The score feels like a continuation but also has something new. New characters have new themes and the themes for old characters especially Elastigirl feel more fleshed out and are utilised more. The score feels exciting and gives the film character.

I'm just going to leave this here for your listening pleasure.

Overall Thoughts

It's safe to say that I loved this movie, after 14 years of waiting, this movie delivered everything I wanted it to and more, we got more action, more heart more comedy without compromising the core values of the film and its characters. And can I just say that I would pay to see a Jack-Jack and Edna Mode movie (I really would, no lie.) There isn't much else to say except go and see it if you haven't and if you have, go and see it again.
Excuse me while I listen to the Incredibles score for the rest of the week.