Incredibles 2: A sequel that lives up to the original

Movie: Incredibles 2 (U/A)

Directed by: Brad Bird

Voiced by: Craig T Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Huck Milner, Samuel L. Jackson

Multi-dimension treading, laser vision, heroes from everywhere, a wolf in sheep's clothing, family issues — name it and the Incredibles 2 has got it all.

And time hasn't moved in the world of Incredibles as it has in the real world. It may have been 14 years since the Incredibles released, but "2" picks up exactly — give or take a few seconds — where the original ended.

We had left our heroes, in 2004, all pepped up to fight a rodent villian called "Underminer". The underminer does his damage to city, and quickly scrams, and leaving us to the real crisis of the movies: Must we indulge in superherodom (which does not come cheap)?

Superheroes are already illegal in this world and the government is fed up with using tax-payers' money for "relocation" programmes. Which means that as protecting the identity of the superheroes is no free fair, it needs to be followed up with the routine of erasing regular folks' memory, relocating heroes and engaging in hefty law suits.

The heroes will grab on to any opportunity to "become" legal once again.

Director Bird swaps gender roles and makes Helen or Elastigirl the face of the superhero community even as Mr Incredible becomes the real superhero: a stay-at-home dad.

The film also introduces the Deavors — genius Elveyn and people's man Winston — come out to back the superhero cause.

Pixar movies have always handled mature topics well while never sacrificing the quality of the comedy. So, everything from the Incredibles' teenage daughter Violent's troubles with a boy (a victim of the "relocation") to baby Jack Jack — not "normal" any longer — goo-goo-gaa-gaaing his way to find his powers is balanced.

But alas, on some points, '2' does lag a little behind the original. When the original had explored ideas such as machine learning and artificial intelligence in 2004, the 2018 version using hypnosis seems a bit regressive. And the villain is (of course) a tech-genius!

Incredibles 2 is a riot all the same. The movie pulls out of its incredible magic hat almost every trick in the superhero genre, the best of which is a neat entertainment package.