2011 sequelRating: 12/20 (Jen: 14/20; Dylan: 10/20; Emma: 4/20; Abbey: 10/20)
Plot: Lightning McQueen takes a challenge and travels to Europe to race against some cool European cars. While there, his friend becomes an embarrassing distraction, and the tow truck somehow winds up in the middle of this dangerous spy adventure.
The first Cars movie isn't one of Pixar's best, but it at least had some heart. The end gets to me, and the movie's worth seeing to watch the main character grow, to enjoy Paul Newman's performance as a crotchety old race car, and to appreciate the nostalgic little message. This movie has none of those things. It's one comic gag or cartoon slapstick scene after another, and most of the comedy doesn't work, at least for somebody like me who was more annoyed than amused with the character of Mater in the first movie. See, this one's got Mater as the star of the show, and it just doesn't work. It's like making C3PO the main character in a Star Wars movie. I wouldn't even agree that the character works in small doses, but an entire movie of Mater? I didn't ask for that, Pixar! I don't believe he says "Get 'R Done" in this one, something that dropped the first one at least a full point, but he does "Shoo-oot" enough to make me want to gouge my ears out. I kind of enjoyed some of the spy stuff with some action sequences and realistic animation that reminded me a lot of The Incredibles. The background and scenery animation is really great, and I liked a couple visual references to other Pixar movies. I'm also still amazed at Pixar's ability to inject so much personality into these car characters with very subtle facial expressions. But the story was too frenetic and unfocused, the spy stuff ran out of steam, and the comedy never worked for me at all. The movie's as shiny as a bucket of newly-minted quarters, but it just lacks that heart that I've come to expect from a Pixar movie. This is the first from the studio that I really have no desire to see again.
3 comments:
I had to sit thru the end of this while waiting to see Harry Potter at the drive-in. It was friggin' painful.
Your review is on the nose, but I can't say I enjoyed even the spy stuff. Of course it looks great, but lack of heart, irritating, omnipresent Mater, and lack of a clever concept (at least by Pixar standards) makes me dislike it. The fact that they had boats with faces, car sumo wrestlers, car bathrooms, and a dozen other silly car-for-people substitutions I'm trying to forget makes me deride it. The fact that there is a movie called "Planes" coming out because these things make a buttload of money and because Pixar may have run out of ideas or standards makes me grieve and almost hate it. At least "Planes" shouldn't have Mater. A 10.
"At least Planes shouldn't have Mater"
I agree, but you know it will.
Cars 1 never did much for me, but I never had a car 'thing', even as a kid. I did the like "Car Talk' guys cameo. (See, I am not into cars, but I am into NPR)
Will likey never see this on purpose.
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