Welcome to day two of Incredibles Week! The reviews are already pouring in for Pixar's latest offering. The critics have a lot to say. And... sadly, they hate it. It's a complete disaster. A trainwreck of a film. Should never have been made. Everyone responsible for this catastrophe ought to be thrown in jail.
I jest, of course.
But I'm not too worried. As long as I can sit in the theatre for two hours being awed and dazzled by a beautiful-looking, funny, entertaining Pixar movie, I'll be happy. And don't worry, dear reader - I'll have my own review ready on Thursday night.
For today, let's examine a topic that's pretty darn easy to tackle: the best moments from The Incredibles. And... there are a lot of 'em. There's almost too much material to work with here. If you want to read several paragraphs of me shilling for Pixar, read on.
"100 Mile Dash"
This scene, in general, is stuffed full of great action and funny little moments, and really showcases Dash as a character. The best particular moment, however? It arrives at around 2:15.
Dash is fleeing from the bad guys. He's got a bad guy to the left. A bad guy to the right. Open water ahead of him. Nowhere to go. But just as he winces and waits to plunge into the depths... that little xylophone riff plays, but the rest of the score suspends in midair as Dash slowly realizes what's happening. He's running on water. He lets out a giggle, and then the scene resumes.
Oh, man. It's just such a fantastic, great ten-second moment. I dare you not to feel a thrill or a chill or some other word ending in ill.
"Lithe or Death"
Look, there's a lot to love about this scene, and not just that Helen is thicc as hell. This particular portion of the film showcases Helen's powers, her skills, her ingenuity, and the fact that she's a superhero in her own right, shown in full for the first time. We may have spent the first hour of the movie learning to empathize with Mr. Incredible, but The Incredibles also delegates Elastigirl some solo time to shine. Man, does it.
This scene is funny, tense, and startlingly creative. And did I mention that Helen is extremely thicc? Because... I mean... well... Lord above have mercy. Juicy.
"The Glory Days"
Well, for god's sake, how could I not include this gem? Right off the bat, The Incredibles opens with a pretty awesome three minutes.
Pixar treats us to a thrilling car chase, great humor ("Let go now!"), beautiful animation and lighting (especially in the latter half, my god), and a highly effective ticking clock that provides a sense of urgency without even bothering to tell you why the clock is ticking. "I've still got time." Yeah. That's every college student ever. The scene also seamlessly introduces the rules of this superhero-populated world, our two main characters, and our future villain, and effortlessly sets up the conflict that will drive the movie.
In short, I think "The Glory Days" may well be one of the best introductory scenes a movie's ever had. It's retro, it's action-packed, it's fun, it's visually attractive, and it's just all-around a good time.
"Kronos Unveiled"
I could talk about this scene for way longer than you'd enjoy reading about it.
Suffice to say: Mr. Incredible stumbles upon Syndrome's computer and figures out the baddie's master plan, which involves the mass murder of all of Mr. Incredible's old superhero friends. Each of them was offered the chance to become a hero again, and they all enthusiastically accepted... and then, for their trouble, they were murdered. The background score is as chilling as the scene.
A more mundane, but no less important, scene is intercut with Bob's: his wife Helen finds out that her husband has been lying to her about his employment, about his supposed business trips, and about who knows what else. Helen's horror and confusion mirror Bob's, and the two scenes finally collide when Helen decides to activate the tracker on Bob's suit to find out where he really is, leading to Bob being detected by Syndrome's defenses, leading to his capture.
"Kronos Unveiled" is one of my personal favorite movie scenes ever. The interplay of Bob and Helen's two storylines, the horror of the implied superhero genocide, the petrifying score... It's just masterfully done.
"Edna's Pep Talk"
I couldn't include every single scene with Edna Mode on this list, so I narrowed it down to this 40-second moment. Edna is pissed that Helen has been reduced to a sniveling helpless housewife, and, as one does in such situations, starts smacking her around with a newspaper and screaming in her face. Naturally.
I must conclude that we all need a life coach like Edna. And a spinoff movie. We all need that too.
Family Battle
Sadly, this is the only moment in the movie where the whole family is actively fighting together. (The final battle doesn't count. They weren't fighting the robot, they were all awkwardly standing around and/or running away.)
Though the scene isn't even a minute long, it's still some of the best action in the movie. Everyone's using their powers, they're kicking absolute ass (despite the fact that two of them are literal children who have never been in a real fight before), the visuals are great, the score is great, every single element is coming together in furious harmony, and I think this brief moment might be the sole scene where the movie actually reaches its full potential. I can only hope the sequel includes more moments like this one where all the Incredibles are battling the baddies together.
...and many more
These are only a few moments from a movie that's 115 minutes of pure kinetic action, humor, and emotion. There's a lot to love about The Incredibles, and I've probably left out an awesome scene that will make me want to kick myself later. Seriously. The whole thing is great. I should have just posted the whole movie and been done with it.
Stay tuned for more Incredibles/Pixar/animation themed posts in the next few days as Incredibles Week continues!
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