Cars 2 (Walt Disney Studio)
Not A Total Car Wreck
Cars 2 brings back the stars of the original movie and puts them into an international adventure. It also includes a moral tale about friendship and its importance. The movie also adds a political overtone in a battle between fossil fuels and green energy. This Al Gore inspired storyline does not belong in a film that is aimed at kids.
At the start of the movie Mater the tow truck (voiced by Larry the Cable Guy) is eagerly awaiting the arrival in Radiator Springs of his best friend and racing champion Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson). When Lightning arrives the two friends spend some quality time together, but then Lightning goes off to see his gal pal Sally (Bonnie Hunt). Mater watches some TV and hears Francesco Bernoulli (John Turturro) brag that he can beat Lightning in the World Grand Prix Race.
Lightning accepts the challenge and makes plans to go to Tokyo for the first of three races. He invites Mater to come along. The race is being sponsored by Sir Miles Axelrod who has a new alternative fuel that all the race cars will be using. It turns out that a mysterious ring of evildoers will be trying to sabotage and destroy the entries in the race. British agents Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) and Holly Shiftwell (Emily Montgomery) are on the case.
Eventually Mater gets involved with McMissile and Shiftwell and becomes part of the team trying to find the bad guys. The action moves from Tokyo to Paris to London. This should cause the plot to be fast paced but it actually is sluggish in parts.
The animation in the movie is amazing but after all this is Pixar, the company that brought us Monsters, Inc, Finding Nemo and the Toy Story trilogy. You expect near perfection and you get it. But in this film you arent dazzled by the animation because you just expect it to be good.
Larry the Cable Guy is the star of this film. He is the perfect Mater and comes the closest to winning over the hearts of the audience. Still this is not a heartwarming movie. The storyline makes the cars likeable but not totally loveable. The plot is the driving point here, not the emotions, and for a kids movie that is a fatal flaw.
The movie is rated G and is suitable for any and all members of the family.
If the oil versus green argument hadnt been so much of the plot the movie would have had more time to explore the emotional impact of the story. As is, the film is okay entertainment but not anything great.
I scored Cars 2 a dented 5 out of 10.
