Review of Cars 2 (2011) by Matthew K — 10 Nov 2013

The film does not display a visual reflection of a good script, because there really isn't one that presents itself. The story felt a little unlike what Pixar normally conjures up, and even the message, that's always placed within, one that usually deals with the importance of making friends or staying together, didn't do anything for me as far as tugging at my heart strings like their previous installment 'Toy Story 3'.

But stepping back to take a look at what they've actually done, they focus on entertaining us, not so much through story, but through funny gags & one-liners and also through 'explosive' and exciting action sequences.

And it's the action itself that almost makes up for the lack of a good story. There were a handful of action scenes, and each of them had a big explosion occurring somewhere within. This sequel certainly treads on completely different terrain than what was explored in the first film, and even though it seemed weird that it was pretty much a different genre, it was still fun to watch Lightning McQueen and Mater travel the world to not only continue doing what McQueen does best(Racing), but to watch what new things Mater gets into(Espionage).

A simple racing story set in a small town in the first film, is paralleled by this story about spies and espionage. And while watching it, I definitely got the feeling that I was watching a James Bond film, as one of the characters, who is a spy, plays around with gadget after gadget.

.. Overall, this film feels different than any other Pixar film, and finds its place at the very bottom of their list, but I still enjoyed it, not as much their top-masterpieces, but just as much as the first Cars.

I'm sure next year when their newest film comes out, this will be nothing more than a bump in the open road, one that I can forgive...just not sure how others will feel.