Cars 2

“Cars 2” Races Ahead of Predecessor…Which Doesn’t Mean a Whole Lot

By: Tyson Anderson

Rating:  7/10

Overall:

“Cars 2” genre switch into the spy movie adds some fun and excitement that was missing from the first, but lacks the heart that beats throughout other Pixar classics.

Thumbs Up:

Overall, I rather enjoyed watching “Cars 2”. I went in with low expectations due to the less-than-enthusiastic reviews I had read about it, as well as my own disappointment in the first movie. In my mind, if there was any Pixar movie that DIDN’T need a sequel, it was “Cars”. I know there are those out there who absolutely love the first movie (one of them is married to me), but honestly it bored me to death, even if it was cute.

Luckily, “Cars 2” kept me entertained from start to finish. Skating over into “Incredibles” territory, the movie is packed with some fun action scenes. We’re treated to a spectacular opening scene at an off-shore oil rig, with secret agent Finn McMissile (voiced by Michael Caine-perfect choice) attempting to sabotage the evil Professor Z. It’s totally old-school James Bond, complete with guns, gadgets and explosions. And if anybody knows me they know I love guns, gadgets and explosions…so I was having a good time. The other chases and escapes throughout the movie are fun too, especially adding in the goofy clumsiness of Mater.

Mater, the loveable tow truck from the first movie (it’s like tow-mater…without the tow) is now the star of this movie, tagging along with Lightning McQueen as the duo travel around the world to participate in a race set up by Sir Miles Axelrod (don’t you love these names) to promote his newly developed alternative fuel. Little do they know that the race is connected to a scheme by Professor Z to stop the fuel from going public, forcing everyone to keep using oil. McMissile, attempting to stop the evil Professor, tries to make contact with an American spy and mistakes Mater as the contact. Mater’s interactions with McMissile and his woman counterpart Holly Shiftwell are pretty funny, even if they’re reminiscent of “The Man Who Knew Too Little”, “Dumb and Dumber”, and probably thousands of other movies. There’s a hilarious part where Mater is introducing McMissile, McQueen, and the Queen of England to each other, poking even more fun at some of the names the writers created for the characters.

And of course beneath the chases and explosions there’s a great message about friendship as Mater’s little adventures threaten to ruin McQueen’s performance in the race. An old Italian couple (Italians know how to keep friends-you scratch my back I scratch yours) reminds him that “To find a friend is to find a treasure”. This is absolutely true and is a good reminder to us all to be better friends to those we love and care for.

And now for the best part of the movie…..actually, it wasn’t even the movie itself. There is a HILARIOUS Toy Story short before the movie starts, all revolving around the Toy Story characters creating a Hawaii vacation for Ken and Barbie to enjoy. If anything, go see the movie just to see this. It made me want to root for a “Toy Story 4”!

Thumbs Down:

Despite the fun spy story of “Cars 2” and the cool-looking locations, the movie just lacks the originality and heart that makes Pixar so great! The first movie had some originality to it, but didn’t engage me in the lives of the characters. This one engaged me, but mostly because of the fun action that was happening. All the other Pixar movies really allowed you to care about the characters and what was happening in their lives, but this movie revolved more around the plot and storyline. Instead of coming away thinking “Wow that was great!” it’s more of a “Well that was fun” type of response. Of course that’s a whole lot better response than what we get from tons of other movies out there, but I expect more of Pixar.

For the objectionable content….hey it’s Pixar, come on! But, I must say that the action in Cars was in my mind a bit too intense for the G-rating that it’s given. There’s one scene where an agent car is “tortured” with heated fuel until he explodes. I don’t know if I would want my 5-year old seeing that (I don’t have a 5-year old….yet). This movie deserves a PG rating, on par with “The Incredibles”.

After All is Said and Done…

“Cars 2” is a fun movie to watch and in my mind is much better than the first; however, it lacks the originality that makes Pixar movies so loveable and memorable. Go see it, but really see it for the Toy Story short at the beginning.

This film is rated G