4 – The Incredibles (2004)

The Incredibles. Film image. © Disney Enterprises Inc./Pixar Animation Studios.

To me, The Incredibles is the best superhero movie of all time. It’s got everything going for it. Writer/director Brad Bird gave us a completely fleshed out and complex story. It had heart. It had a substantial and fully realized back-story. It contained everything you could ask for in a superhero or James Bond type of film and then some. I think it’s got several of the best-animated sequences in Pixar history. (To name just a few; Elastigirl infiltrating Syndrome’s hideout, Dash running on water, both scenes in Edna Mode’s home, the final battle scene with Syndrome and Jack-Jack.) At 115 minutes, it’s also one of Pixar’s longest, beaten only by Cars’ 117 minutes. That’s long for an animated film, but it’s necessary to tell the complete story. Put that story together with great characters, non-stop action and comedy and you’ve got a true winner in my eyes. I wish every big budget superhero movie were this satisfying.