Blu-ray Review: The Incredibles 2

Synopsis: Everyone’s favorite family of superheroes is back in “Incredibles 2” – but this time Helen (voice of Holly Hunter) is in the spotlight, leaving Bob (voice of Craig T. Nelson) at home with Violet (voice of Sarah Vowell) and Dash (voice of Huck Milner) to navigate the day-to-day heroics of “normal” life. It’s a tough transistion for everyone, made tougher by the fact that the family is still unaware of baby Jack-Jack’s emerging superpowers. When a new villain hatches a brilliant and dangerous plot, the family and Frozone (voice of Samuel L. Jackson) must find a way to work together again—which is easier said than done, even when they’re all Incredible.

Main Feature: I was never over the moon with "The Incredibles." Part of it felt like a knock-off of Marvel's "Fantastic Four" property (albeit, a much, much better one). "The Incredibles 2" is a big leap forward, clearly taking into account how deep and socially conscious superhero films have been since the first one was released. "The Incredibles 2" clearly has its fun pedal to the metal, with an adorable new addition in infant Jack Jack--a character that even caused my 22-month-old son to giggle with delight. On the adult side, many themes currently affecting the world--namely, women's role in the workplace and men running the household--are tackled and addressed here. Given its nearly two-and-a-half hour running time, I never once found myself feeling bored or checking the clock. "The Incredibles 2" is just plain great, not surprising given director Brad Bird helming the project. 

Special Features: The extras on the discs are fairly standard entries--trailers, deleted scenes, cast & crew interviews. Two key ones I thoroughly enjoyed were vintage-looking toy commercials advertising the products of Elastigirl, Frozone, etc. Also is Bird talking about nothing but animation--his history, methods and influences for the genre.

Final Call: "The Incredibles 2" bonus features may not be super, but the film more than makes up for it and saves the day. 

Grade: A-