Cars 2
Movie Review
"Cars 2"
Review by Eric D. Snider
Grade: C-
Rating: G
Released: Friday, June 24, 2011
Directed by:
Cast:
What a fine thing it is to be Pixar, to have produced 11 computer-animated feature films, all of them beloved by audiences and critics alike. What a marvelous situation it is when the "worst" of your output, "Cars," still merits a B- rating. We should all strive to do something that "bad"!
Unfortunately, the streak ends with Pixar's 12th film: "Cars 2," a tedious action caper that has only a handful of laughs and suffers from a dearth of storytelling magic. Except for the animation, which is typically state-of-the-art, the film is shockingly un-Pixar-like.
This time around, Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) is challenged to participate in a World Grand Prix by Francesco Bernoulli (John Turturro), a cocky Italian sports car who believes he is faster than Lightning. The race is being sponsored by Sir Miles Axlerod (Eddie Izzard), a Richard Branson-like adventurer and entrepreneur who has converted himself into an electric car and has developed a sustainable new fuel, Allinol, that doesn't rely on oil. The cars in the World Grand Prix will all run on the stuff.
With this as the backdrop, we get to the heart of the matter: international espionage! While in Tokyo for the first leg of the race, Lightning's old buddy from Radiator Springs, the dimwitted tow truck Mater (Larry The Cable Guy), is mistaken by British spies for their American contact. These spies -- the James Bondian Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) and intelligence gatherer Holley Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer) -- bring Mater into their mission, which has to do with stopping a conspiracy pertaining to the race.
It's the classic dumb-guy-is-mistaken-for-smart-guy scenario, with Mater being quite slow to realize that Finn and Holley think he's a spy, and with Finn and Holley being quite slow to realize he isn't. Meanwhile, Mater embarrasses Lightning McQueen with his bumpkin behavior at the fancy Tokyo parties, and there is a rift in their friendship.
Here's a sobering statistic: I laughed more times during the six-minute "Toy Story Hawaiian Vacation" short that preceded the film than I did in all of "Cars 2." Now, that's not necessarily a problem. Nobody ever said all Pixar movies have to be straight-up comedies; "The Incredibles," for example, has several sequences that are more focused on action than laughs. The difference -- and it's a crucial difference -- is that we care about the characters in "The Incredibles." We're invested in what happens to them. I feel almost nothing for the "Cars 2" figures, and perhaps least of all for Mater, a comic-relief sidekick character who was for some reason made the protagonist of this story. Every other familiar face, including Lightning McQueen, is relegated to secondary status as Mater spends most of his time with Finn and Holley.
If a sequel needed to be made at all (a questionable proposition to begin with), it was wise to avoid simply repeating the story from the first movie. But this screenplay -- credited to Ben Queen (creator of the short-lived TV race drama "Drive"), from a story by director John Lasseter, co-director Brad Lewis, and "Cars" co-writer Dan Fogelman -- assumes that the audience is far more interested in the further adventures of Mater the tow truck than is warranted. There are lengthy stretches where the film doesn't even try to be funny, focusing instead on espionage action sequences that feel cold and tiresome. These sequences tend to be well-executed, but they involve characters we have little interest in, situations that mean nothing to us.
When the movie does go for laughs, it usually gets something closer to amused smiles. (When the cars travel by plane, they have to remove their tires at the airport security checkpoint. Amused smile.) Many of the gags rely on Mater's idiocy, which is funny in small doses but hardly enough to carry a film.
The genius of most Pixar movies up until now has lain in their ability to efficiently create likable characters who are thrust into situations that are fantastical yet relatable. Even if you never played with toys as a child, you can relate to Woody's fears of being replaced. Even if you don't fantasize about being a superhero, you can relate to Mr. Incredible's frustration over feeling unfulfilled. Even if you don't have children and hate fish, you can relate to Marlin's search for Nemo. You get the idea. In "Cars 2," not only is the main character a dud, but so is his crisis: His feelings were hurt when Lightning got irritated with him, and now he thinks Lightning is better off without him. If "Cars" were a weekly TV series, that might work as the emotional core of one episode. It isn't enough for a 100-minute feature.
Pixar head John Lasseter, who directed the company's first few movies and is the chief creative adviser to the whole happy team, has spoken frequently about his lifelong love of cars. It was his enthusiasm for NASCAR and nostalgia for classic American auto-making that led to the first "Cars" movie. I think the problem here is that Lasseter thinks everyone shares his passion for automobiles, and that seeing them brought to life on the big screen is inherently delightful. For the first time in Pixar's history, the storytellers have neglected the one thing they were always best at: telling stories.
Grade: C-
Rated G, with some mild potty humor and action violence
1 hr., 53 min.
Copyright © Eric D. Snider.
This work may not be transmitted via the Internet, nor reproduced in any other way, without written consent from Eric D. Snider.
This item has 25 comments
June 24, 2011 at 1:56 am
Noooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!
June 24, 2011 at 3:05 am
^
http://www.nooooooooooooooo.com/
June 24, 2011 at 4:41 am
I'm bummed, but also aware that it had to happen someday. No studio produces a never-ending string of high quality hits, any more than great actors pick nothing but big winners. Still looking forward to their next one. :)
June 24, 2011 at 6:36 am
You might notice the complete lack of surprise on my part (which is unlikely, now that I mention it, since I don't see you anywhere around me. But if you were you would detect an utter paucity of surprise) The first Cars was one of the few movies where I didn't mind at all when my baby started crying and I had to take her out of the theater. It broke the cardinal rule for all animated films: IT WAS BORING.
I would have been surprised and quite a bit annoyed if I had heard that this sequel was any good. Today, my heart feels like an alligator. Although I'm sure my brother and his kids will be upset because they inexplicably loved the first film. Takes all kinds.
June 24, 2011 at 8:53 am
This is beyond depressing. This kind of failure is...I don't know what to believe in anymore.
June 24, 2011 at 11:15 am
Darth Vader voice: "NOOOOOOOOOOooooo"
June 24, 2011 at 11:43 am
Rumor has it this movie was made due to the demands of Disney. The story is something along the lines of "Disney wants more money and forces Pixar to make sequels to two of the most marketable films (Cars and Toy Story)."
Toy Story 3 was one of the best movies ever made, which belies the tale (though someone pointed out to me that if you watch the end credits, the music gets suddenly ominous when the Disney logo scrolls by), but I think everyone agrees that a sequel to Cars was almost as bad an idea as the Yogi Bear and Smurf reboots.
Eric D. Snider here: I just want to nip this in the bud, because it's not true. For one thing, when Disney officially bought Pixar in 2006, they put Pixar head John Lasseter in charge of ALL Disney animation. So it's Lasseter who's calling the shots now. If anyone's forcing anyone's hand, it's Pixar telling the Disney animators what to do, not the other way around.
Every story I've read about the behind-the-scenes operations at Pixar -- even in the most cynical outlets by the most jaded writers -- indicates that Lasseter really is as sincerely passionate about this stuff as he claims to be. I don't doubt that Pixar likes making money, and surely Disney's skill at merchandising has rubbed off on them. But there's no reason to believe Pixar has made any film simply out of obligation or as a cash-grab.
June 24, 2011 at 12:29 pm
I'm saddened too, but one of the reviews I read pointed out that this is Pixar's 25th anniversary and that a bad movie once a quarter century is probably something we can handle (Cars 5 in 2036?). Oddly, all the reviews have been kind of contradictoty though--people seem either to really like it or really not. Maybe the real problem is that it's not as broadly appealing as the other Pixar movies, which Eric kind of gets at in his last paragraph.
June 24, 2011 at 12:39 pm
Yep, Mark. My son, who was 12 or 13 at the time "Cars" came out, said he didn't like it. "No plot" he said. I'm pretty sure that what he meant by that was that it was boring.
Incredulous, I took by other kids to see it. It was boring. Kids of all ages were walking up and down the aisles, going to the bathroom, getting drinks... just general restlessness. Something theretofore uncommon in previous Pixar pics.
So, my hopes that Pixar somehow fixed the problems of the first movie in the sequel appear to have been dashed (pun?).
June 24, 2011 at 12:55 pm
As baguioboy said, it is Pixar's 25th anniversary. Maybe to mark that occasion they decided to do something really different and make something crap.
June 24, 2011 at 1:11 pm
One possible reason for focusing on Mater: kids seem to love him (I guess they don't know how loathsome Larry the Cable Guy is), and Disney made a Mater-centered cartoon series (Mater's Tall Tales) that kids also love.
I bet they focus-groupped it, and figured Mater sells the most tickets, toys and advertising for their TV show. My kids seem to love Mater, no matter how many times I tell them he's responsible for their mother's untimely death.
June 24, 2011 at 1:39 pm
I think aaron has hit the nail on the head. For my daughter (who is 4 now), it's always been Mater, Mater, Mater. I don't have any hard financial statistics, but I feel like I've seen far more Cars toys, video games, spin-off tv projects, bedding, and clothes than most of Pixar's other movies. The only one that might compare is Toy Story. They all get some attention when they initially come out, but Toy Story and Cars have been enduring in the cash cow department, and the children especially love Mater.
I imagine Pixar was following the money on this one. And the sad part is, it is going to make a ton of money, no matter how poor of a film it is.
June 24, 2011 at 1:41 pm
Called it!
Cars 2: The Happy Meal Race
Cars 2: The Wal*Mart Cup
Cars 2: Pepsi Wars
Cars 2: The quest for more money (Obviously stolen from Spaceballs)
Nothing like forced creative process to the demands of the dollar!
June 24, 2011 at 3:55 pm
*sigh* Well, at least Brave looks like it'll turn out amazing. Still, pretty bummed that Pixar just made this film to cash a quick merchandising paycheck. They are still my favorite studio.
June 24, 2011 at 5:00 pm
JL is a huge car fan. Today is actually the 11th Motorama Pixar has had- because JL just likes cars. I think he wanted to make another Cars film because of that. And my DH (who just got a job at Pixar) says that the whole company knew Cars 2 wouldn't be as great, but it's what JL liked. They are going to slow down on all the sequels, too. I think my DH said it would be a sequel every 3 or 4 films.
And Brave does look like it'll be the awesome.
June 24, 2011 at 9:28 pm
If we have to wait 13 films for a Pixar movie centered on a female protagonist, Brave damn well better be good.
June 24, 2011 at 11:31 pm
We love Pixar. We saw the movie. The kids (girl 8 and boy 4) liked it okay. They aren't talking a lot about it or reenacting scenes from it, which is always an indication of how much they like a movie. (If it gets acted out, it's a hit.) It lacks the snap of other Pixar films, and there's not a lot of memorable stuff. Probably would have been better as an extended Mater's Tall Tale rather than a full-length feature.
June 25, 2011 at 1:20 pm
And the sixth seal was opened, and lo, Larry the Cable Guy was poured upon the earth, and there was much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, save for those souls whom also enjoyed Transformers 2, or the Kardashians. And behold a cry went forth to "Get Her Done" and many took their own lives at the sound of it, and they were taken up into heaven and punished not because of the mindlessness thereof. Amen.
June 25, 2011 at 8:13 pm
I didn't really like the first Cars movie, and absolutely loved The Incredibles, and wished that they had made a sequel to that one. It would have been much better.
June 26, 2011 at 10:44 pm
Well, Pixar technically didn't let anyone down, because who honestly thought this would be a good movie?
Now, I expect Brave to be good - and if THAT'S bad, then I'll start to worry that Pixar's overall quality is slipping. But really, it's Cars 2. Of course it's bad.
June 27, 2011 at 9:57 am
I posted on Facebook last week that, 'judging from the ads, Pixar may have jumped the sharkbait on this one.' Sad to hear I was right.
June 27, 2011 at 11:12 am
Mater = Jar Jar Binks
July 10, 2011 at 4:11 am
Oh my. As long as my nine-year old son likes it, I don't care about this kind of professional criticism. After all, grown ups have other movies to look at, don't they? This has got to be half stupid without a plot and with lots of cars doing funny things.
September 6, 2011 at 5:36 pm
Yeah Eric, stop doing a critical analysis of this movie. What do you think your job is, anyway? As long as the kids love it we should just sit back and say nothing.
December 6, 2011 at 11:31 am
Thank you all for lowering my expectations of the movie because, well, I actually enjoyed the movie. I can't help but laugh just thinking of the anime demonstration in the Japanese restroom stall. Sure, liking a backwoods redneck might be difficult for many of the urban elite that ferquent this site, but Mater's positive qualities are a bit overlooked (e.g. comprehensive knowledge of automobile mechanics and an undying loyalty for people he cars about).
It's interesting too that Eric mentions how we can relate to Woody's being replaced. Yet no one ever gets rejected by all his friends once in a while, right? Maybe I'm blinded my love of automobiles but compared with the other Disney/Pixar films, I'm not sure what "dearth of storytelling magic" Cars 2 lacks. It might not be on par with the some of the other Dispix classics, (Bug's life and Finding Nemo not included) but a C minus? Come on!