Well this was inevitable, Cars 2 is said my most to be the worst thing Pixar has ever done and even for someone who loved the first movie, I can’t bring myself to defend this super misguided sequel. It's far from the worst thing I've ever seen, but knowing Pixar and the high standard they have set for themselves. This felt like a giant step backwards especially since this movie came off the coattails of Toy Story 3.
Mater (Larry the Cable Guy)is your normal happy go lucky tow truck from Radiator Springs. He is excited to see his pal Lightning Mcqueen (Owen Wilson) but before the famous racecar can get any rest, Mater accidently applies Lightning into the World Grand Prix which he accepts after a fellow challenger Francessco insults his best friend. The duo along with Lightning’s pit crew head out across the world, but Mater gets roped in an adventure of his own with secret agents Finn Mcmissile (Micheal Caine) and Holly Swiftwell (Emily Mortimer) who believe that there may be more connections between the World Grand Prix and an unknown enemy’s schemes.
The biggest mistake this movie makes is having Mater as the main character. It's not to say he shouldn’t be the main character but it's mainly due to the fact that they give him little to no interesting material to work with. Heck, you don’t even see Lightning Mcqueen that much in the movie which shouldn’t be the case since he is in the forefront of the majority of the advertisements. Then there is the spy element which admittedly sometimes can be cool especially during the first seven minutes, but it feels like it belongs in a much different movie. To mesh that with Lightning and Mater traveling around the world for the World Grand Prix just seems unnecessary and feels like the filmmakers are trying too many ideas at once. On top of that, the humor is very childish and not in a fun way. Usually Pixar is good at giving jokes that are just as good for adults as for kids but somehow this movie gets it backwards and it makes most of the humor kinda hard to sit through.
Mater is good as a side character, but not really as a main character and this movie proves that. I give Larry the Cable Guy credit for trying his hardest but even his passionate energy wasn’t enough to save the movie from its lacking storytelling. Lightning Mcqueen as well as other familiar favorites from Radiator Springs barely make an impression and aren’t as interesting as they were in the last movie. The new spy characters however are the only ones that have interesting personas even though they feel like they belong in a different movie as i’ve said before. Finn Mcmissile is a James Bond inspired character who is suave, confident and cool while Holly Swiftwell is a young agent in training who has a soft spot for Mater’s charm.
If there is one thing we can count on Pixar to accomplish no matter how good or bad the storytelling is would definitely be their attention to detail in the animation. We go from the small town of Radiator Springs to big cities around the world and the way they are presented really make you feel like you're in an authentic replication of those cities from Tokyo to London, even if with the fact that they are populated by talking cars. Character designs for the different car characters are still great and the racing during the world grand prix never fails to impress me.
Another saving grace comes in the form of Micheal Giacchino who always brings his A-Material for every movie he scores. The theme for Finn Mcmissile sounds like something out of a spy thriller and the rest of the music brings a great sense of action. There are also songs for the movie that are not as good as the last installment, but are duable for what they are.
I feel bad for director John Lasseter because he clearly was passionate about this movie. It's just a shame that the movie turned out to be super underwhelming especially considering what Pixar has put out beforehand. It has uninspired storytelling and characters that range from somewhat likable to mediocre, but its very good animation and better than average music score that help save the movie from being completely awful. Pixar I love ya, but let's face it every studio has to have one weak performance, and unfortunately Cars 2 is yours.
(Final Grade C-)