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Movie Review: Cars 2

Mike Tyrkus

To be honest, I was never really much of a fan of the first Cars film. It felt like a letdown when compared to the other films Pixar had produced. To date, it is probably my least favorite of the Pixar films. Having said that, even the worst Pixar film is better than most animated (or live action) films being produced and I have come to have a certain affinity for John Lasseter’s ode to the bygone days of Route 66. While the franchise itself may simultaneously be the least “grown-up” and the most kid-friendly of the Pixar films, the new sequel, Cars 2, does succeed in delivering an entertaining and occasionally thoughtful action-adventure. Though it may be light in the deeper meaning present in other Pixar fare, it is precisely what it is meant to be, a fun and wildly fast-paced film that your kids will absolutely love.

The second film begins with a James Bond-like opening that features a new character, British secret agent Finn McMissile (expertly voiced by Michael Caine). McMissile is investigating a villainous cabal that is hatching a nefarious plan to sabotage the World Grand Prix. In typical spy-film fashion, McMissile has a few harrowing escapes and performs a few death-defying stunts before making his way back to England. Meanwhile, in Radiator Springs, Lighting McQueen (Owen Wilson) has returned home after winning another Piston Cup. McQueen’s best friend Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) is thrilled that he has returned home as he never gets to go with McQueen to any of his races. Though a series of misguided yet well-meaning stunts, Mater commits McQueen to a race he originally had no intention on entering. So, McQueen asks several of his Radiator Springs friends, including Mater, to accompany him to the World Grand Prix which begins in Japan.

Once in Japan, Mater is mistaken for an American spy by McMissile and new field-agent Holly Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer) after the actual agent plants a vital clue to unraveling the mystery of exactly who is threatening the race on Mater. Next, a series of misadventures that sees Mater getting into all sorts of spy hi-jinks and inadvertently ruining McQueen’s finish in a race culminates in a falling out between the two friends. But, it seems the “bad” cars have their headlights fixed not only on ruining the race but killing McQueen as well. So, it falls to Mater as the only one who can save the day.

With Cars 2, Pixar has once again delivered an absolutely gorgeous film. Not since Finding Nemo has the studio’s colorful palette been given such an expressive canvas. To say that Cars 2 is a visual feast is not giving the film its due credit. The use of 3D here is also breathtaking. It may well be the best use of the technology in a Pixar film yet. The film also moves along at a break-neck action-adventure pace that is a welcome change from the meandering “finding yourself” plot of the first installment.

Since Cars 2 focuses mainly on the character of Mater, it is natural that Larry the Cable Guy stands out and even comes across as less annoying than he has in other roles. While it’s true that his character does begin to grate somewhat and the idiot with a heart of gold shtick wears thin when Mater seems to learn nothing after being told that everyone sees him as a buffoon (though it does seem that he’s grown up a little bit at the end of the film having and perhaps Lasseter and company didn’t feel the need to clobber their audience of children over the head with a lesson on proper behavior, assuming instead that they would just “get the message”), he’s entertaining for the most part and is a wonderful foil for the mayhem that follows whenever he’s around. But a little Larry the Cable Guy goes a long way and the film could have benefitted from less of the “idiot” Mater and a bit more of the self-assured and confident Mater and maybe even more of the strong supporting characters the film has to offer. While Caine’s secret agent persona is given a lot of screen time, the Holly Shiftwell character isn’t given nearly as much, especially as she’s intended as a romantic lead for Mater. Similarly underutilized are John Turturro’s incredibly entertaining Italian Formula One car Francesco Bernoulli, and the millionaire car turned racing enthusiast Miles Axelrod (Eddie Izzard). Then again, the target audience here doesn’t care about these peripheral characters so there’s no reason to dwell on what could have been (it would be like wondering what the guy fulfilling all of the Coyote’s orders at ACME was like at home).

While Cars 2 might be the first Pixar film that parents and their kids don’t agree on, it’s still more or less an entertaining film. Will your children care that the emotional depth of a Finding Nemo or the whimsy of Wall-E is missing? No, they won’t. Are they going to notice that the film slipped in a debate about fossil and alternative fuels? Probably not. Will they tell you that you need to take them to the nearest toy store to pick up rocket-powered Mater or the new Finn McMissile car? Definitely. Rest assured you won’t be bored during Cars 2, though you may find yourself thinking that Pixar finally let you down. Still, even a bad Pixar movie is a great movie for a lot of other studios and worth your time and money. But they need to make sure this type of film doesn’t become the norm for the studio or their creative luster could lose a lot of its shine.

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Mike Tyrkus

Editor in Chief at CinemaNerdz.com
An independent filmmaker, co-writer and director of over a dozen short films, the Editor in Chief of CinemaNerdz.com has spent much of the last three decades as a writer and editor specializing in biographical and critical reference sources in literature and the cinema, beginning in February 1991 reviewing films for his college newspaper. He was a member of the Detroit Film Critics Society, as well as the group's webmaster and one-time President for over a decade until the group ceased to exist. His contributions to film criticism can be found in Magill's Cinema Annual, VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever (of which he was the editor for nearly a decade until it too ceased to exist), the International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, and the St. James Film Directors Encyclopedia (on which he collaborated with editor Andrew Sarris). He has also appeared on the television program Critic LEE Speaking alongside Lee Thomas of FOX2 and Adam Graham, of The Detroit News. He currently lives in the Detroit area with his wife and their dogs.

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