Last night I had the absolute pleasure of heading to the theater and seeing Incredibles 2, big and loud in a Dolby Cinema.

Here are my thoughts on Pixar’s latest flick.

• Initially, I was really concerned about Brad Bird and company returning to the world of The Incredibles, as the original is one of my all time favorite films - near perfect (IMO), and the idea of touching what was with a sequel felt like an unnecessary risk.  That said, the movie absolutely sings, and builds wonderfully upon the original, with great additional depth to the universe.
• That said: Incredibles 2 is flawed in that its message is far muddier than the originals, opting to make some points while producing an enthusiastic superhero romp, as opposed to driving one idea home.
• Between The Iron Giant (Anti-Gun), The Incredibles (You should do what makes you special), Ratatouille (Anyone can be special), Tomorrowland (People should strive to do great things), and this film, you get a very interesting look at the political and sociological leanings of Brad Bird.
• The action sequences in this film are absolutely stellar. Bird is just stellar at setting a sense of scale, continuity, pace and intensity in his work, and Incredibles 2 is no different.
• Who would've thought that, even with the Jack-Jack Attack short, the idea of Jack-Jack having powers would still be so damned delightful and wonderful in action?
• For working with upgraded models from 2004, the animation in Incredibles 2 is stellar. There's a moment early in the film where Mr. Incredible is fighting the Underminer underground (picking up RIGHT where the first left off) where the frame feels exactly like a golden-age comic book.
• Speaking of throwback design, the architectural design of the Incredibles new home, added with things like Elastigirl's new bike, and a really cool hover train, are just the retro-futuristic design elements needed to scratch my personal aesthetic itch.
• The score by Michael Giacchino is just as good as, if not better than, the up-beat jazzy original. Simply fantastic.
• I really enjoyed the new Supers, including the Portal-inspired Void.
• The villain is...hmm, somewhat obvious? But still enjoyable never-the-less.
• Goddamn do I enjoy hearing Bob Odenkirk do voice work.
• The pre-film short, Bao, is an incredibly touching story about parenthood. Or just about a cute dumpling. You pick.