The Incredibles Review

Saving the world is a thankless job. No matter how many times you save it, it always manages to get back into a mess again. Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) is among the select few of a top secret government programme. They routinely do stuff like benchpresses using an eighteen wheeler, stopping trains with their bare hands, cradling 747s in their arms etc. - basically whatever it takes to rescue innocent civilians from the clutches of evil.

So far so good, except that they also get into as many lawsuits as their acts of heroism. There comes a point when even the government feels that it would be inappropriate to misuse any more of the tax payers' money. The programme is withdrawn and the superheroes are relocated with new identities.

They are all leading normal lives, blending with the rest of the population. But the yearning for helping people is still very strong in Mr. Incredible and Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson). They listen to the police scanner, itching to get back to the good old days. Incredible's wife, Elastigirl (Holly Hunter), is none too happy when she learns of it.

Despite her sounding a warning, when he receives a communication to stop a killer robot running loose on a remote island, he just cannot fight the urge to do his thing. He screws up, though. Big time. It is now upto Elastigirl and their kids, Dash and Violet, to get him out of trouble.

The movie talks of superhero qualifications in such a matter-of-fact way that you almost begin to feel whether you are the only one who does not have any superpowers. And for that, credit must go to Brad Bird. It also tells you of the difficulties that superkids face in their daily lives when they have to act normal - they look cho chweet doing that!

Though it is an animated feature (or a cartoon film, as we Indians call it), it is going to tickle everyone's funny bone. Sample this:

"So, Mr. Incredible, do you have a secret identity?" asks a scribe.

"Of course, I have a secret identity. Which superhero does not have a secret identity? Who wants the pressure of being super all the time?"

Point taken. But, pressure or no pressure, how do the guys at Pixar come up with one super film after another?