Cars 2 (2011)
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Cars 2 Movie Review
Cars 2 is a 2011 animated spy directed by John Lasseter. It is the second entry in the Cars series and by far the worst product that Pixar has put out.
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“I never properly introduced myself:
Finn McMissile, British Intelligence.
Tow Mater, average intelligence“
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So yes, I entirely agree with almost everyone on this movie – it truly is mediocre. So the opinion on it is almost becoming universal. I wouldn’t say it’s terrible actually as it has its strengths and thus I do think it is more mediocre than horrible and I now give it a 2.5 instead of 2 rating, but still it’s a bad film for Pixar standards and unfortunately it hurt their winning streak.
The major problem with this film is naturally its storyline which is so bad. Basically Mater gets mistaken for a spy and suddenly gets embroiled in international espionage. Now, admittedly what I found rather interesting in this story is the prejudice toward old cars and fuel and that was somewhat well explored and a terrific premise.
But unfortunately, the film relies much more on boring action scenes and mediocre humor and thus it became an overlong, even dull viewing experience. The spy elements are obviously taken from James Bond, but from one of its weaker outings as the entire affair is not particularly exciting, original or entertaining.
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Scratch what I said above. Storytelling is not the biggest problem of Cars 2. What is actually the major problem here is the emphasis on Mater as he is obviously a sidekick character and he is meant to be used lightly and occasionally. I do like him actually, I am not one of those guys who hates him, as when he is used sparingly, he can be quite funny and sweet. But here unfortunately he became a main character and thus became quickly more annoying than likable, more unfunny than amusing etcetera.
Lightning McQueen thus did not get enough screen time at all. He is forgettable here, but I did like the friendship between the two with their reunion and big speech being the best part of the whole film. Finn and Holley are forgettable as these new spy characters and Francesco is your typical arrogant competition. Sally is also underused.
Cars 2 definitely has stellar animation which is the expected norm for the studio. The cars themselves look great as does the scenery as the settings are all so well utilized. The film looks polished and pleasing to the eye and the action is also well executed, but again never becoming particularly riveting.
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The dialogue is okay, but not particularly inspired. The emotion is only present in that one aforementioned scene between the two friends, but is otherwise thoroughly lacking. And for a movie about cars and racing, this one is surprisingly devoid of such scenes which was a problem for me as the other two entries did racing so well.
John Lasseter really did not direct this film well, and I know this franchise is his baby, but here he missed the mark entirely. I have always liked this franchise and I continue to find ‘Cars 3’ solid and the first ‘Cars’ quite good, but this second installment is a blotch and a dark spot not only in this series, but also in the entire Pixar’s output.
Cars 2 does have a couple of good scenes, the friendship between Mater and McQueen is strong and the animation is per usual terrific. However, the entire espionage storyline is weak, uninspired and bland, the humor is pretty weak for the most part and the emphasis on Mater as a protagonist hurt the entire film as he was never meant to be anything more than a sidekick character. For all of those reasons, Cars 2 is easily the worst Pixar film ever and their only mediocre outing.
