‘Incredibles 2’ Is the Rare Sequel That Benefits From Being Just Like Its Original

For all of its thrilling animation and incredible (heh) heroes, The Incredibles has always preached one central message: we should be wary about giving any entity too much control, no matter how good they may seem. That side-eye account of hero worship fueled Disney and Pixar’s first film about the Parr family in 2004. Almost a decade and a half later, and during a time dominated by endless superhero franchises, that lesson feels more hauntingly relevant than ever.

By definition, sequels need to share some DNA with their predecessors, but when you break down the similarities between Incredibles and Incredibles 2, they feel practically identical. Both follow a superpowered parent who decides to do illegal superhero work for a billion dollar tech company. Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) leads the hero work in the first movie, only to be replaced by his less destructive wife Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) in the sequel. In both cases, this new job puts a new strain on their marriage, first causing Helen to suspect her husband is having an affair and later forcing Bob to balance his professional jealousy with the stress of childcare. Both movies cut between epic action and silly, relatable family life B-plots. Both even feature the same twist. In the early aughts The Incredibles revealed that the hero-worshipping tech supergenius Syndrome (Jason Lee) wasn’t actually interested in making supers legal again; he was just using them to further his own interests. Likewise, one-half of the brilliant sibling pair employing Helen, Keener’s Evelyn Deavor, builds her plan around the same anti-super sentiment. Instead of superhero jealousy, Evelyn considers the public’s reliance on them a form of evil itself. It’s the libertarian spin on classic Pixar.

There are so many similarities in fact, Incredibles 2 should feel lazy. And yet it never does. That’s largely because the questions director Brad Bird was insightful enough to hint at in 2004 need to be asked now. What is the role of the people when governments can’t fully be trusted and the wealthy have endless power? Incredibles 2 isn’t just bigger and funnier than it’s original. It’s willing to drill further down into the dark subtext of this world during a time when vigilante justice seems more cinematically alluring to us than ever before.

The Incredibles franchise contains a myriad of complicated themes — the love and stresses of family, the balance of personal and societal responsibility, what exactly makes someone a hero. Yet at the center of all of this is a story of governmental failure and our personal responsibility in the face of systematic collapse. The Incredibles is set in a world where being a superhero is illegal, a proclamation the heroes of this film constantly fight against. In fact this entire franchise’s views on politics can be summed up by the worn government official Rick Dicker (Jonathan Banks): “Politicians don’t understand people who do good just because it’s right.”

Again and again the Parr family and their friends argue that making supers illegal hasn’t helped the world. It’s just given bad guys more opportunities to hurt innocent people without repercussions. And largely they’re proven to be right. Between stopping a train, saving a New York-esque city from being spearheaded by a boat, and stopping a villainous mole called the Underminer, this super-charged four person family has saved thousands of lives over the course of two films. Their government and society may have failed them but that doesn’t mean they’re going to behave the same way. At first glance vigilante justice is portrayed as a good thing like it is in almost every superhero film.

But when you unfold that premise a bit it starts to collapse. After all the whole reason why supers were banned in the first place was because of the excessive destruction they caused. They may have been acting for the greater good, but at least at some point certain heroes were doing it in a way that was above the law. Likewise, Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl’s journey of vigilante justice truly doesn’t look too different from that of their villains.

Both The Incredibles‘ Syndrome and Incredibles 2‘s Screenslaver hold the same basic belief: there are unintended negative consequences to a world unofficially run by superheroes. In other words, both of these characters have identified a perceived evil in their world and have taken it upon themselves to correct it because they believe their society hasn’t helped enough. Their methods may be dark and manipulative, but the basest of their intentions are the same as that of our heroes. Whereas Syndrome brooded over the superiority of superheroes in a way that epitomized a toxic fan, Screenslaver’s arc pushed this movie’s established moral question a step further. According to her, blindly trusting any entity is dangerous, whether that entity be mindless entertainment, the government, or the seemingly perfect heroes saving you for elusive reasons.

There are many superhero movies that have questioned whether or not a world reliant on supers is actually good, and most have walked away with the same box-office driving answer: yes. The Incredibles has always answered that question with “maybe.” At the end of both films the government still seems somewhat justified for its actions and the eccentric billionaires trying to reshape the world using their wealth are the true villains. But blindly trusting this world’s heroes to make things better doesn’t feel so great either. Even if the Parrs can repair the image of supers everywhere, they will still have to face the same problems that led to the banning in the first place.

Whereas the first Incredibles concerned itself with outlining the murky moralities of a world filled with superheroes, Incredibles 2 walks away from this identical premise with something closer to a solution. The balance between government and self-reliance will always be complicated, but ultimately as Helen embodies, the goodness of good people who care can be trusted. Incredibles 2‘s finale even ends on a hopeful note. After butting heads for over four hours of screen time, Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl are embraced by their community and friendly with at least one billionaire, Winston Deavor (Bob Odenkirk). No one person should be completely trusted to execute the greatest good, but perhaps if common ground can be found between a system of leadership that’s supposed to represent the people, marginalized groups with a better understanding of what’s needed, and the independently wealthy there is hope for a better future.

When The Incredibles first premiered, Hollywood was just starting its love affair with superheroes. Spider-Man, one of the first serious mega superhero hits of the modern era, had premiered two years prior, and Marvel’s universe-establishing Iron Man was still four years away. The intervening years have been filled with entire cinematic franchises built around superheroes and their many journeys, but few have come close to this uncomfortably relevant conversation about what to do when a government is so wrecked vigilantism seems like the only recourse.

Incredibles 2 may not have a clear point at the center of its metaphor for otherness, but it’s still happy to dive even further into those morally complicated weeds. And in the process, it’s pointing out the frustrating shallowness of many of its peers.

Watch The Incredibles 2 on Netflix