Incredibles 2 is a supercharged Pixar sequel

INCREDIBLES 2 is a Pixar superhero sequel equal to the task and worth the long 14-year wait. Standards have not slipped, and fun and adventure are everywhere in an instant classic.

HOW the heck do you make a sequel to The Incredibles, one of the greatest animated movies of all-time?

Well, if you hail from the mighty Pixar stable, you tear a leaf out of their Toy Story playbook, then push hard with all your creative might to make the next instalment just as magnificent.

Which is exactly what the immensely gifted writer-director Brad Bird (Ratatouille, The Iron Giant) has done with Incredibles 2.

REVIEW: TAG ENDS BEFORE PLAYTIME IS OVER

HEREDITARY A FIVE-STAR HORROR MASTERPIECE

This supercharged superhero sequel hits the ground running, hits the skies flying, and hits the audience with wave after wave of excitement, enjoyment and stirring storytelling.

Events begin exactly where the original 2003 classic concluded, with the Parr family still living on the wrong side of the law while saving the day as covert costumed crime fighters.

The Incredibles 2 is packed with excitement and stirring storytelling. Picture: Disney Pixar

The killer opening sequence in which parents Bob (voiced by Craig T. Nelson) and Helen (Holly Hunter) — with children Violet, Dash and baby Jack-Jack at their side — take on their fearsome foe The Underminer (John Ratzenberger) serves as a brilliant reminder of the legitimate action-movie genius of the first movie.

Be assured that Bird and his team are out to preserve that genius in new, innovative and deliriously entertaining ways during Incredibles 2. (If you find yourself having any doubts, just hang in there until a scene involving Jack-Jack and a stray raccoon. It is one of the best individual scenes of any movie you will see this year. Easily one of the funniest too.)

Let’s briefly return to the story, shall we? Just as it seems superheroes may soon be invited back in from the cold, a dangerous new techno-villain known as The Screenslaver starts turning up the heat.

Helen, or rather, her alter ego Elastigirl, becomes the busy frontwoman for a public-relations campaign to redeem the reputation of her kind.

If Helen can get the better of The Screenslaver (who delivers an incendiary speech during the movie about how mankind has become addicted to digital devices to a dangerous degree), then her family will no longer have to live in the superhero equivalent of a witness protection scheme.

Helen as her Elastigirl alter ego in The Incredibles 2. Picture: Disney Pixar

It is an around-the-clock job for Helen, which means Bob must now become the chief child-wrangler of the household.

This one development could opened the door towards all kinds of corny shenanigans, but Incredibles 2 even has its mind fixed firmly on the job when it comes to playing the sentimental “family” card.

This is a movie with plenty to say about the changing roles of parents in the modern world, the evolving personalities of children in an advanced age like ours, and how a family can remain a cohesive unit while each member pursues their own growth as individuals.

What more can be said? Everything is as excellent as it could and should be for Incredibles 2, with the added bonus of a spectacular unveiling of baby Jack-Jack’s much-discussed secret superpower.

INCREDIBLES 2 (PG)

Nothing second best about a second film doing its very best

Rating: Four and a half stars (4.5 out of 5)

Director: Brad Bird (The Incredibles)

Starring: the voices of Holly Hunter, Craig T. Nelson, Sarah Vowell, Huck Milner, Samuel L. Jackson, Brad Bird, Bob Odenkirk, Catherine Keener.