The Incredibles

I had really hoped to write a glowing, magnificent review of the newest Pixar hit, "The Incredibles". What I can say is that I was mildly entertained. It's a fun movie that is great to look at with storyline for kids of all ages. What was lacking for me was the anticipated comedy. I honestly think I laughed twice over the course of the two hour computer-generated feature.

The Parr family is at the center of the story. Bob, the patriarch, was known in his superhero glory days as Mr. Incredible. His wife, Helen, was Elastigirl. But that was in the past. After civil lawsuits against superheroes doing good deeds became too much for the government to handle, the good guys with abnormal talents were forced into retirement, relocated, and given jobs like everyone else. The Parrs went on to have three kids, two with apparent superhero powers, while Bob slaved away in an insurance agency.

Enter onto the scene the bad guy, Syndrome. He's out to rid the planet of all retired superheroes, present the world with a deadly enemy, and then come to the rescue of the planet to then be the one and only superhero to the people. This eventually puts the entire Parr family in jeopardy, pulling Bob and Helen out of retirement, and adding the kids, super-fast Dash and force field creator Violet, to the superhero mix.

That set-up alone consumes the entire first hour. I was quickly becoming bored with the movie as very little had yet to happen. Once the Parrs become The Incredibles, the action does pick up and the story becomes more fun. My favorite characters were Dash, the son who's faster than the Flash, and Edna Mode, the creator of their costumes. She is easily the funniest of all the players.

Again, "The Incredibles" is not a bad movie. In fact, it probably has the safest storyline of any CGI movie we've seen previously, and the computer effects only get better with each Pixar production. Just don't go expecting to laugh very much. I give it a B.

"The Incredibles" is Rated PG (for action violence) with a running time of 2 hours.