Incredible Sneaky Peek

I was going to post on the head-wrecking antics of my pernickety bar customers, but that can always wait. More pressing news awaits, however, as I am just back from a sneak preview of The Incredibles . In contrast to the audiences at the sort of guff I normally go to, it was odd to be in a totally packed cinema. Growing up in Monaghan, I saw Robocop 3, and the sequel number matched the attendance. Suffice to say, The Incredibles rocked more than a flying Robo. Although the characters’ powers are superficially similar to existing superheroes (Tom Strong, Invisible Girl, Reed Richards, The Flash, and Iceman), Brad Bird and co have managed to create standalone superheroes that exist unproblematically in their own universe. Nods to comics are pleasingly obscure: superheroes getting sued reminded me of Dwayne McDuffie's great Damage Control, which concerned the poor construction guys who have to rebuild cities after superhero battles. What The Increbibles excels at is reproducing believably on screen the type of Kirbyesque ‘huge monster trashing whole streets while various characters buzz around it using their distinctive powers’ covers beloved of The Fantastic Four. In fact that adaptation will have its work cut out for it to render the FF’s powers believably in a live-action context.

I did warn this blog would get geeky, God help us all when I get started on She Hulk!.