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A Review of "The Incredibles"
First off, this is Slashdot. You know, News for nerds, yadda yadda. So, let's start off with talking about the special effects, or more generally, Pixar showing off all that they have learned and accomplished.
The big hype in the animation sector has been the characters - real human people. Don't be fooled by the hype. Pixar has been doing humans as characters since "Toy Story". With the single exception of "A Bug's Life", human beings have featured as a major character in every Pixar film, and while the effect here is fantastic, it is evolutionary, not revolutionary. No, what stands out in terms of technical acheivement here is the movie's stunning use of light. Sure, "Finding Nemo" accomplished a lot here, but in that film, light was a tool to give depth to the water that surrounded the characters. Here in "The Incredibles" the light is a thing unto itself. Gorgeous shadows, warm red lava, sunlight against clouds, all of these things are breathtaking. The use of sunlight, especially in the jungle sequences, give objects a three dimensionality they have never possessed in a Pixar film before. It's clear that Pixar didn't have the chops prior to this film to do action sequences, because prior to this, the feeling of moving in a three dimensional space just wasn't there.
The movie itself is not just a breakthrough technically, it's a very different movie from previous Pixar productions. This is very intentional. All previous Pixar movies have been dreamed up primarily by John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton, Pixar veterans. So the story goes, these guys are looking back at Pixar history and while they see the series of wonderful made films that the rest of us have seen, apparently they also saw something else: an encroaching rut. There was a very real chance that Pixar could have become the next Disney in a very short time, making well produced and financially successful repeats of their earlier successes for years on end. They didn't want that to happen. And that takes fresh blood. Enter Brad Bird. Bird was an art student with Lasster, and had made one feature film five years ago - the sady underseen "Iron Giant". Brad Bird was challenged to make a different kind of movie, with complete creative control - he wrote and directed. This gamble paid off hugely.
This is not a kids movie. Seriously. Previous Pixar films have been consumate kids movies, movies so well made, and so funny that parents could enjoy them. And there are even a few adult gags the kids might not get. "The Incredibles" is a completely different tack. "The Incredibles" is an action movie, first and foremost, one of the best of the current crop of superhero films. Then it is a family film second, and a kids movie third, if at all.
To give you the basics: the world is full of superheros. The biggest are Mr. Incredible, super strong and invulnerable, Elastigirl, a Ms. Fantastic of sorts, and Frozone, a Silver Surfer/Iceman hybrid. Due to events that occur on Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl's wedding day, superheros wind up on the wrong end of - get this for deja vu - lawsuits. Lawsuits by the thousands. The government comes up with a relocation program, hiding the supers and pardoning them from actions performed in spandex, with the agreement that they hero no more.
Mr. Incredible becomes Bob Parr, an overweight insurance adjuster, with three kids. The symbolism is rampant. Once incredible, now he must suppress both his gifts and his insatiable need to help people, getting in trouble with his boss for actually helping their customers. From incredible, to just par. He's huge. He fills up the entirety of his cubical space, he fills up his entire car, he bends doorknobs, and cutting through his son's steak, he cuts through the table. He is too big for the small world that society wants to peg him in.
On the other hand, he's missing the one incredible part of his life - his family. His son Dash is tired of suppressing his lightning speed, and his teenage daughter Violet is tired of moving everytime the government needs to cover up her father's identity. When she can't hide behind her goth hair, she uses her powers to turn invisible. Managing the two of them and their third child, a normal baby named Jack Jack, Elastigirl is getting tired of being the only real parent.
Their marriage is strained, their kids are young and angry, his job is about to fall apart, and her patience is thin. It's a domestic situation primed to explode, and for the many of us out their who have seen couples divorce, we know exactly where it's going.
Except something happens.
And thereby hangs a tale. As you can see, this isn't some allegory about our lives from the point of view of a bug or a toy or a monster. It IS our lives. But with superpowers. Much like the also fabulous "Shaun of the Dead" the real story is a human one, but framed within spectacular events. The visuals are awesome, the special effects are fabulous, and the dialog not only funny but at times witty. I can bet that 90% of Slashdotters will see themselves on screen, most likely identifying with the daughter Violet or the villain Syndrome.
The performances are of course amazing. Pixar continues its talent of finding distinctive and expressive voices in the world of more traditional acting. Jason Lee as syndrome hints at his performance in "Dogma" and Craig T. Nelson shows us he can be so much more than just the coach from Coach. Holly Hunter shows her never ending flexibility (no pun intended), and newcomer Sarah Vowell as Violet (from National Public Radio's "This American Life") is quite delightful. And the only complaint about Samuell L. Jackson is that there isn't enough of him.
One sad difference between "The Incredibles" and Pixar's previous offerings is that it has a few minor niggles. Regardless of how you feel about Pixar's previous work, it was all carefully and consummately made. The movie's mixture of family interactions and superheros almost always works, but is slightly shakey with its villain Syndrome. He's got great lines, a good backstory, and a perfectly over the top performance from Jason Lee, but something just doesn't quite work, and that's the first time I've ever said that about a Pixar flick. But in the end it doesn't matter. So much works here, that the little stuff gets washed away.
"I AM NOT A TRACER!"
"This food is problematic."
"Mr. Incredible becomes Bob Parr, an overweight insurance adjuster, with two kids."
:p
I would commit ritual suicide if that happened...he really is incredible
There are so many details in the movie it's insane. The scenes where they run through the jungle are amazing. Every single tree and plant is highly detailed even though it rushes past you in the blink of an eye. The humans are just right -- not realistic-looking, but realistic enough. Their hair and clothes are excellently textured, while their skin and faces are comic book-like. The mechanical robot they fight looks like it is made of real metal, not drawn. The lighting effects, as mentioned in the review, are perfect. The whole movie is an animation masterpiece.
And absolutely LOVED it!
It's nice to see that Pixar is sticking to it's guns on having a great story/script BEFORE they start making a movie out of it. Too bad Eisner & Co. didn't get that clue and I think Pixar will be all the better for it now that they've told Disney to get lost.
As Steve Jobs would say, the movie is "insanely great"!
If "disco" means "I learn" in Latin, does "discothèque" mean "I learn technology"?
Comment removed based on user account deletion
I was amazed at the rendering of long, wet hair. I dug up this cool paper on the subject.
With every movie, computer graphics takes another step. Antz had water, Lion King had computer-generated herds... Although we're really close, we'll get to a point where the animation no longer constrains the story.
HIV Crosses Species Barrier... into Muppets
...was that the scene in the teaser trailer, of Mr. I attempting to buckle his belt, is not in the film.
Other than that, a pretty good movie, though perhaps not in the same league as Toy Story and A Bug's Life.
Ironically, Disney's solo "Chicken Little" looks to be pretty good (previewed at The Incredibles also).
Letter To Iran
It's precisely because of that sort of thing that the movie works. Rather than "Copy", though, it's more frequently called "tribute" and "satire" (the latter gaining them protection from lawsuits).
There's touches of Fantastic Four, X-Men, Superman, Spiderman, James Bond, Rankin and Bass HeatMiser and more. Just look for them and enjoy the cultural richness
:-)
I really enjoyed this movie, but it had a weird streak of Ayn Randism running through it. I actually rather liked that, but each time it caused to step back from the movie a little bit. There were a couple of lines thrown in like "And when everybody's super, then no one is," announced by the bad guy. Or when Dash is told by his parents that everyone is special, he retorts with "that's just a way of saying that nobody is."
This movie encouraged exceptionalism in a way that was striking for a kid's movie. It actively lobbied against the idea of everybody being unique in their own way, it argued in favor of there being Nietzchi-esque supermen among us who should be lifted up above the masses for the betterment of society.
Whether or not you like the message, it was kind of fun to see what I was expecting to be a kid's film making an arguement about philosophy. Fun stuff. Good movie.
--
RumorsDaily
While I enjoyed "The Incredibles" very much, I couldn't shake the impression that the movie storyline is just a bit too close to the storyline of the classic Alan Moore graphic novel. "Watchmen" also tell the story of superheroes whose activity was banned by law - thus ending the Golden Age - and they were given new identities by the government just like in the witness protection. Even the idea of portraying the Golden Age and the contemporary narrative in different graphic styles, reflecting differences in aestethics of contemporary graphic novel and 1930's comics is present here - in "Incredibles", we have contemporary CGI animations and hilarious spoofs of "retro" cartoons of the Golden Age.
I had the opportunity to ask Brad Bird directly about this similarity on "The Incredibles" junkt in Santa Monica. He said he has never read "Watchmen". I believe him, but... it's just too close.
The movie was able to jerk emotions out of me much more than expected. I come from a divorced family and there's lots of kids. I somehow had a weak spot for this and it shows when I watch it. Very Very VERY well made. Gotta love Pixar. Don't know what I think about Cars yet. Looks kinda goofy and stupid. But Incredibles' trailers didn't give anything away about the content of the movie either....
I got nothin'.
...and I have to agree with the comments so far. The movie is extraordinary, one of the best I've seen so far this year. It may be an even better superhero movie than Spiderman 2, and that's saying a lot.
The effects are there to help the story along, not to shine by themselves. At lots of times I completely forgot that it was CGI; it's not animation, not live acting, but something in which you can get utterly absorbed. A must-see for any self respecting film geek, Pixar fan, CGI fan, or all of the above.
No
I saw it with my 22-year old SO
Decided to take the 22-year old SO out this time? Guess you need a change from the 27-year old SO and the 19-year old SO from time to time.
It wasnt in the movie......Only the trailer... I love when they have exclusive shots for trailers so they dont ruin the movie.....
keanmarine.com
Ever since the early days, one thing that has annoyed me about Pixar is their strange love of over-saturated light. From their early TV commercials on they've had it. The one part of Toy Story I didn't like was that lighting (most often in sunset scenes, etc.), especially since I had just figured out that general problem in some 3D work I had been doing myself at that time and was very attuned to the look.
However... as the review pointed out, in this picture the lighting is just beautiful. The choices are great, and the look enhances without intruding. Basically it's moved up to being a strong supporting character
I've seen questions posted elsewhere asking for advice about kids. Obviously, seeing animation in a commercial attracts not on the kids but makes the parents think it's likely apparent. I've talked to several people who have taken their kids & regretted it.
Ebert & Roeper both stated it was not a movie for kids. Hopefully, the next time I see it the parents will learn to keep their kids occupied (not ooh, ahh, laughter, but chatter, chatter, chatter) or adjourn them outside of the screening room when it's far enough into the movie it would be time for a commercial were it to be on television.
Which point is an interesting philosphical problem in itself: the ethical question of what do you do with the gifted in the first place?
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
One of my favorite parts of the movie (spoiler alert) is when Elastigirl is talking to her children while hiding from the bad guys in a cave and warning them:
"You know those Saturday morning cartoons you used to watch? Well the bad guys here are not like that. They will not exercize restraint just because you're children. They will kill you if they can."
Again, while I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, I have a sinking fear that Disney is going turn this into another franchise that they will milk for all its worth. Until it has none of the spark which makes this movie so enjoyable.
"I'm making perfect sense, you're just not keeping up."
I'm guessing ebert & roeper's kids must have really bad ADD, or you work for dreamworks.
my nephews loved it.
Undoubtedly the best Pixar movie yet. Sure, it has beautiful visuals and a great story, but there is something layered much deeper than hit right with me while I was watching it.
I think it's the message.
In public schools, kids who are incredibly intelligent and wish to progress forward in learning are discouraged to do so because it would be "unfair" and what have you. Because of that, they are sent down to the same classes as those who are, to put the bluntly, stupid(or just not as gifted).
It's the same thing in this movie, the unique(or "super") are sent down to live with those who they were once helping because they don't want it anymore.
Now MAYBE I'm just reading too much into something that isn't there, but it sounds like it is a metaphor for an ignorant populace that no longer wants to be helped by ones who can, which could be a metaphor for those who are creative and intelligent. Essentially, scientists and engineers(and the combinations of the two).
They all celebrate mediocrity and everyone being the same. It's a rather socialist point of view, and the Incredibles finally pull themselves out of their stuper and go back to helping mankind.
That's my view on it. Which is why I'm going to go see it again.
And again.
Many, many times over.
Another hidden gem in this movie is Wallace Shawn (Vizzini from The Princess Bride) as "Bob Parr's" boss in the insurance company. Fortunately, his role includes the lightning quick monologues that he's famous for.
Blizzard does all of their animation in-house, and they are very well known for their high quality work. Their artists are obsessive with detail, and the standards for getting into one of their animation jobs are sky-high.
And represent the game they're trying to sell? That's a matter of opinion: they're trying to make the most exciting and visually pleasing movie possible using the source material, which they do, and do rather well. A video reflecting in-game gameplay would be best served by... recording in-game gameplay, maybe? It sure as hell wouldn't be as interesting to watch, that's for sure.
Except the Incredibles don't rule: they SERVE.
The intelligent guy who wants to manipulate the world, he's the one who wants to "rule."
I think the point is much more "it's important to be yourself even if you're not 'normal'" instead of "use your talents to control the world".
And just to be devil's advocate: the young girl's powers DO go together. The theme is "she's hiding from the world and pushes people away." Like a lot of teenage girls. Much like the boy's powers are along the "bundle of energy" theme, and Elastigal is "stretched thin" as a mother.
The movie is really clever in how it visually references other films. Particullary good was a portion of the film which is a shot-by-shot remake of the Rocket bike chase in Return of the Jedi. It also spoofs You Only Live Twice in some really humorous ways too. In short, good movie for film nerds.
I haven't seen the movie yet, although I plan to this week, but would one of you, any of you, PLEASE say something negative about this movie? Anything. Seeing dozens (nay, hundreds) of Slashdotters all agreeing with each other all at the same time is disconcerting at best, and frankly is scaring the hell out of me.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
a lesbian complained that Chasing Amy made it sound as those homosexuality were just a choice and that a lesbian just needed a "deep dicking" to be converted.
Kevin Smith pointed out that the Jason Lee character said that because his character is so WRONG about everything. Kevin Smith was making a point that such a line of reasoning is WRONG.
"Syndrome" said that because the idea is WRONG. If were were coming out of Mr Incredible's mouth then it might possibly be construed that Pixar was trying to convince people that were the way things are.
What made you think that the villian in the movie was the one to pay attention to for some kind of moral lesson? Pixar had Syndrome say those lines because he's the bad guy and HE'S WRONG. Dash says it because he's young and ignorant. And he later finds out he was WRONG. His entire family has special abilities that make them unique.
All the Incredibles are unique in their own special way. The heros are like that because that is the CORRECT moral lesson Pixar was putting out there.
Seriously. I can't think of any movie where every character good and bad speaks only moral truths that the audience is supposed to take as correct. This like every other movie ever made has characters which have incorrect world views which are then demonstrated to be wrong by events of the film.
Work Safe Porn
"It's clear that Pixar didn't have the chops prior to this film to do action sequences, because prior to this, the feeling of moving in a three dimensional space just wasn't there."
I don't see how you can make that argument. Video games, which have long been focused solely on action, and are far behind the quality seen in this film, have been doing action quite successfully for a long time now. If anything, action is MORE suited to poorer quality graphics, because everything whizzes by so fast you don't have time to notice any details. For the stylized cartoonish animation that Pixar does, the technological enhancements really aren't that noticeable anymore. I think Pixar is reaching a point of diminishing returns here... which isn't bad, it's just to say that things are just about as good as they are going to get doing this sort of cartoon animation.
"Previous Pixar films have been consummate kids movies, movies so well made, and so funny that parents could enjoy them. And there are even a few adult gags the kids might not get. "The Incredibles" is a completely different tack. "The Incredibles" is an action movie, first and foremost, one of the best of the current crop of superhero films. Then it is a family film second, and a kids movie third, if at all."
I mostly agree with this. While I think that this movie would be very entertaining to children, they weren't it's focus. The movie was told from the perspective of the parents, with the children being the supporting characters. A lot of the issues that the parents deal with will fly over the heads of the children, which is ironic in a sense, as you see the same thing happening to the child characters in the movie. Still, it should be made clear that this movie doesn't really go any further than that, and most likely couldn't and remain a kid's movie. Non of the adult characters are really faced with any complex situations or moral dilemmas. There's a firm line between good and evil. Things go down a rather predictable path. Things are spelled out mostly and little left to our intuition. So don't go to the movie expecting anything like that. The ADD kids will have their attention kept by the action, and the ADD adults will have their attention kept by their identification with the adult characters and jokes (ya and the action too =P).
The movie's mixture of family interactions and superheros almost always works, but is slightly shakey with its villain Syndrome. He's got great lines, a good backstory, and a perfectly over the top performance from Jason Lee, but something just doesn't quite work, and that's the first time I've ever said that about a Pixar flick. But in the end it doesn't matter. So much works here, that the little stuff gets washed away.
OK to discuss this I'm going to have to throw out a few spoilers here, so you should probably stop reading here. I think his character worked quite well... for a kids movie. He was a two dimensional villain, [SPOILER] which was somewhat disappointing given that they had taken the time to make him be a childhood fan of Mr. Incredible. It almost looked like they were leading up to a sympathetic villain, but then decided they wanted a very firm line between good and evil in this movie. If perhaps they had made Mr. Incredible more at fault for Syndrome's turn to evil, and have Syndrome struggle a bit more instead of being totally evil, he could have been made into a more interesting character. It would also have been nice to show a change in Mr. Incredible, from a young man who didn't really like children or understand them, to a father. They could have made Syndrome's attack on the city not be a totally evil move, but rather have his intention to be to put on a show and be a hero (with the attitude of collateral damage being just "breaking a few eggs"), and the machine goes out of control. Take out his serial killing of heroes, and he might be able to be a villain you could have s
Ayn Rand is in the movie. Accent, silly cigarette holder, polemics, and all.
Okay, I've seen it twice already, and (damn!) have to go again with my wife tonight. I simply can not believe the talent and insight that Pixar brings to the medium.
GEEK ALERT
So, the thing that really stands out for me is the slight "involuntary" movement of the eyes when Mr. Incredible is listenting to his wife. It's about half-way through the film.
It's subtle. He's looking at her. Then, there's the smallest of movements of his eyes when she speaks...and he's looking at her. Seriously, he's watching her speak.
It's just so lifelike...a tiny, delicate detail... that it absolutely blows my mind. I got a cool chill when I noticed it, like the first time I saw 'Al' the toy collector, sleeping on the couch in Toy Story 2. So very "real", extremely cool.
And as for the preview for Cars, hey, I liked it! My son will probably enjoy it, he really digs that stuff!
I was not let down. I keep waiting for the first Pixar flop or let-down... and I'm still waiting. To be honest, the car movie doesn't look all that interesting to me, but I'm perfectly willing to give it a chance.
:-)
I enjoyed how they portrayed the mothers domestic use of her powers. Elastigirl makes the best use of her powers through the movie I think, in many various ways. A superfamily trying to be normal... perhaps not the most original premise, but very well executed and hilarious nonetheless.
You can tell when someone makes excellent characters... you want to see more of them. You wish there was a longer movie, or a sequal, or something. And at the end of this movie, I was very much wanting to see Incredibles 2.
But... I am glad to say that there's a good chance we'll never see that. Pixar is very good about creating a new world with every movie... Toy Story 2 was a mandate from Disney, not a Pixar choice. And there's no real need to revisit the Incredibles... their story is done. I just loved the story, the world, and the delivery... impeccable.
I'm a Pixar fanboy, I admit.
"I will trust Google to 'do no evil' until the founders no longer run it." Hello Alphabet.
If you were thinking about bringing an infant or toddler, please don't.
This isn't "Finding Nemo" - it has people getting killed. It shows parental fear & inability to protect children. Scarey stuff for a four or five year old.
I saw (and thoroughly enjoyed) the film yesterday, but it was partly spoiled by screaming babies. If you're the couple at the Colo Springs showing with four kids under five, that allowed the one baby to cry continuously - please don't do that to a theater again. Next time someone might say something awkward to you. Like "hey man, go be a dad".
And next time, don't assume that because something's animated it's great for kids.
Marvel does indeed have a fairly prominent super-speed character: Quicksilver - son of Magneto, former member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, The Avengers and X-Factor.
They also have "The Whizzer" but I won't try to describe him any further since there are too many versions of him in alternate realities.
If you'll excuse me, I need to crawl back under my rock.
It's like the "pop-up" commercials in the middle of TV shows these days - they'll do it until people stop watching. The dots are put on there by burning each print with a laser, and each individual print has a different pattern. The idea is that they can track which print was used to make a copy. Of course this is moronic, as the dots are large enough to be noticable even in a crappy, VCD resolution, copy made with a camcorder in the theater. So any pirate group worth their salt will take a few minutes to clone-paint out the dots with a pirate copy of a tool like Combustion.
Silly, silly Hollywood movie studio executives!
Note: I see at least 100 films a year in the theater, so I'm a good example of the sort of person that the studios really ought not piss off.
"How perfectly Goddamn delightful it all is, to be sure" Charles Crumb
I was actually really excited by the Cars teaser. I think the animation really fit the subject (the animated cars looked great, in my opinion), and based on Pixar's prior teasers, I don't expect this teaser actually gives more than the merest glimpse of what to expect - it certainly didn't reveal any story.
Indeed, MacNN on Friday (apparently crediting USA Today for the info) gave a very brief synopsis that indicates that Cars will not really revolve around racing (though it seems pretty obvious there will be some racing).
MILD SPOILER ALERT - here is the synopsis they gave:
"The movie centers on speed-obsessed race car Lightning McQueen, who gets lost on his way to the track. He lands in Radiator Springs, a downtrodden town off fabled Route 66 that has been bypassed by the interstate. There, he learns about what really matters from the cars of the 1950s and '60s."
-andrew
The Incredibles is the first superhero movie that I have seen where the super powers were 'just right'. Usually powers are given that are so great that the either the hero 'forgets' to use them at a critical moment (which annoys me to no end... "you know, if he remembered that he could see through walls he would have caught the bad guy an hour ago") or arbitrary reasons have to be invented to prevent them from being used ("oh, the pseudoultramicroneutroniatron field is stopping your super powers again? guess we have to do things the hard way"). In this movie each individual power was not enough to overcome every obstacle, and every power was used to its fullest to overcome each obstacle, singly or via teamwork. As I walked out of the movie I remarked to a friend that I did not notice a single time in the movie where a power was stupidly forgotten or otherwise kept out of the action.
One thing I think Pixar has yet to perfect is speech. If you watch closely when the characters are talking, some of their lip movements seem stiff, or too simplified for what they're pronouncing. I think part of it might be under use of the tongue, or lack of depth on the lips... it's really hard to say. I know its a really difficult thing to pull off flawlessly, but I did notice it a couple times (like when Violet calls her brother a "little insect", it sounds like it was said through clenched teeth, but the character onscreen opens her jaw wide for the E). I wonder if Pixar ever records video of the actors pronouncing their lines at the recording studio... it might be handy in better matching the characters lips to the actors accents. Anyone know?
Either way though, its just a little nitpicking. Overall the movie was fabulous. I enjoyed it a lot!