Review of Cars 2 (2011) by Alex G — 26 Aug 2016

This is Agent Henry of the Flixster Users. I have uncovered something that may shock you: Cars 2 is actually a great movie. It's not perfect, but Cars 2 is still a fine movie. The overall negative reaction is to who made it.

So negative, that it's their only rotten movie on both critics and users. But all is not lost. After a brief transmission from a spy, out story opens with a completely new cast of characters and a new/much different story: Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) infiltrates a boat in the middle of the ocean in a sleek, cool way that is both reminiscent of modern spy gadgets, except accommodated for cars.

The ship is full of evil doers who are examining... something sinister. After snapping a few pics of the sinister item, McMissile is spotted by Professor Zundapp (Thomas Kretschmann in a better fulfilled villain role than Strucker), and after an intense shootout, McMissile fakes his death.

After that, we return to Radiator Springs to reunite with old friends Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) and Tow Mater (Larry the Cable Guy), as they reunite and have some fun, until Lightning goes on a date with Sally (Bonnie Hunt), and Mater gets so lonely, he impersonates a waiter at the restaurant they go to, and after Mater calls into a talk show to tell off formula-one racecar Francesco Bernoulli (John Turturro) for insulting Lightning McQueen, Lightning goes on the line and announces live that he accepts Sir Miles Axlerod's (Eddie Izzard) invitation to the World Grand Prix, and after Mater is mistaken for the American spy by Holly Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer), Mater is dragged into a conspiracy concerning the World Grand Prix, the Lemon cars from McMissile's opening sequence, and forces Mater can't even begin to comprehend.

Lightning McQueen and Mater's friendship is better developed here, both early on, and throughout. It helps because this is the darkest Pixar movie ever. Mater is well-developed through his interactions with Lightning and his co-spies, and like the first one, they do a fun job of establishing the world they live in as a parallel universe (or end point of Pixar theory) where Cars live like we do.

This time, they brought it to a global scale. And don't even get me started on the animation, it was their usual blend of believable and tangible to the point you wouldn't notice any serious flaws.

However, while the grizzly car deaths made sense and were realistic, it does make you question how they got the G rating. There was still comic relief, but I feel like this was a big-budget blockbuster trapped in an animated movie.

I don't want to punish them for doing something a little different, but all the death and destruction felt out of place for Pixar, based on the last 15+ years of charm and whimsey they'd put out.

And Michael Giacciano's score works perfectly to that, replacing most of the country vibes of the first one with a fast-paced score that gets your heart pumping in the action, from McMissile's infiltration to the high-octane climax that (again) feels out of place from Pixar.

It may make you think of Woody and Buzz when they lit the rocket, but it wasn't the only high octane moment in the film: it was one of several. Overall, Cars 2 will go down as the lowest on many Pixar fans' lists for being too dark.

I'd like to point out that if Dreamworks/Blue Sky/other had made this, there would be more praise than disgust. Pixar made a fun spy movie, but you'll always wonder, "How did they get a G rating in 2011?" Agent Henry out.