Cars 2(2011)- User Reviews

Cars 2 switches gears from the unhurried charm of small town life in the original film to the high-speed thrill of an international road race as Lightning McQueen takes on the best the world has to offer. And his friends from Radiator Springs are invited on this global road trip including best bud Mater, the unsophisticated tow truck. There’s also intrigue as sinister forces intend to sabotage the race as secret agents lead by ‘AutoBond’ Finn attempt to foil their plot. And Mater is a blast as he mistaken for a secret agent and becomes involved unwittingly in frustrating the fiendish plan. It’s a race not only to the finish line but also against time to prevent the schemers from turning Lightning McQueen into toast in this turbo-charged sequel which fans should drive to in droves (but not at a drive-in if 3-D is preferred)

The film is preceded by a Toy Story short entitled Hawaiian Vacation (or Ken’s dream date) featuring all the regulars from the series including T-Wreck, Oops, T-Rex.

The film begins in the nighttime sea as a secret agent, Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) successfully gains access to a restricted oil drilling platform where the diabolical monocle wearing Professor Z (Thomas Kretschmann) representing an unidentified individual, is planning something vile involving allinol, a gasoline alternative, with the convocation there. But Finn is discovered and barely escapes with little more than a video of the participants involved.

Meanwhile Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) has returned to Radiator Springs after a successful Piston cup circuit season for a little R&R with all his friends there including Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) who’s ready to resume his role as BFF 24/7 (even posing as a Mater’D at a restaurant where McQueen is having a quiet dinner with his girlfriend). But the relaxation abruptly ends when Mater inadvertently causes McQueen to accept a challenge from Indy Car rival Francesco Bernoulli (John Turturro) to participate in the World Grand Prix to prove who the best racing car is. And quicker than you can say Speed Racer the gangs all headed to Japan for the first of three races to determine the winner. The international buzz over the event is so great that even the Lightyear blimp will even make an overseas trip on cover the race.

The race sponsor Miles Axelrod (Eddie Izzard) who developed allinol is promoting his product which each participant will be using as fuel for the races. Finn and agent Holly Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer P.S. if there’s a double entendre here, I don’t get it)) are also on hand to contact another agent with valuable information regarding the conspiracy. Mater is there as well and being Mater he is an embarrassment to McQueen especially over a certain oil leak incident during McQueen’s interview with Miles. Mater, Z’s hoods and the American agent all converge in the powder room and the agent plants a homing device containing the secret data on an unsuspecting Mater before being captured. But the British agents attempting to setup a rendezvous with the ‘extremely American’ agent during the 1st race accidentally cause Mater to relay instructions which result in McQueen losing the race. McQueen is so upset he removes Mater as crew chief and the dejected tow truck then finds himself headed home until The Brits hook up with him retrieve the information accepting him as a fellow ‘spy’. They even complement him on the ingenuity of his cover as a dump er dumb truck (more proof that intelligence is not a requirement for government service).

The memory chip which the agent gave his life for doesn’t reveal the scheme’s mastermind but it does give the agents a look under his hood into his internal workings to see what makes him run. Mater quickly recognizes that the culprit is a lemon (as are all the participants (Hugos, pintos, etc.) at the oil platform) given the continual extensive repairs required to allow the mystery machine to function. And somehow these sourpusses have secured Professor Z’s services to create a device which can disable or destroy a car which runs on allinol to sabotage the great race (note: one of the heavies is a Gremlin: that’s their specialty).

The race contestants become suspicious when numerous entrants mysteriously blow their engines on the same stretch of road in the second race. And now the head hoodlum has set his sights on blasting McQueen off the face of the earth in the 3rd race right in front of the Queen. God save the Queen and the McQueen. Looks like there may be some ka-booms in the race weather forecast. To help the agents solve the mystery before it’s too late, Mater will have to become a spy equipped with all the latest gadgets and enough firepower to be called the Termin-Mator and use his ‘average intelligence’ to save his best bud. Even though he may not be the smartest thing on four wheels, where lemons are concerned, Mater is a genius par excellence.

This second course of Cars treats audiences to a tour around the globe from Radiator Springs to Japan, Italy, France and England with a taste of the culture in each area. The backgrounds are eye popping and colorful from the neon lights and piston elevators in Japan to the hair pin turns on the scenic Italian coastal roads (where Luigi has a family reunion) to the palatial lined English roads. Every scene is picture perfect in 2-D or 3-D (which I saw). And you can’t misfire with the combination of intrigue and speed (spiced up with a generous portion of comedy) at the box office. But the trendy storyline involving alternative fuels though mentioned often is never emphasized. Look at Mater. As jovial as he is, he’s still not eco-friendly. But there is fitting tribute of sorts to Paul Newman’s character, the Hudson Hornet early in the film. Lightning McQueen even trades in his decals for real headlights. And the producers cleverly injected a song (You Might Think) by the 80’s group, The Cars, into the action as well. SPOILER ALERT: There are lots of spoilers on the cars in this film.

Meanwhile Tow Mater has moved from supporting character to center stage as the light-headed, resourceful motor mouth with a heart of gold (or maybe cast iron?). And Mater is the perfect vehicle for Larry the Cable Guy’s unique brand of humor. Mater is hiLarryous (groan!). And Mater the spy makes more transformations (via hologram) than Optimus Prime or Bumblebee ever could imagine. Check out the monster truck. And with all his new-fangled devises, spy Mater even has a few eagles under the hood. But the use of homonyms is never a good idea where voice activated commands is concerned. Oh chute!!!

Owen Wilson is likeable as always as McQueen. Michael Caine as British intelligence agent Finn McMissile (wait a minute: Is that a double entendre?) is funny and convincing as the 007 car (licensed to drive). The other supporting vocals are good as well which includes Vanessa Redgrave as the Queen, NASCAR racer Jeff Gordon as Jeff Corvette and sports commentator Brent Musburger as who else, Brent Mustangburger. And the ubiquitous Pixar regular John Ratzenberger is back as Mack. But strangely no Vin Diesel. I guess Cars 2 wasn’t fast and furious enough for him.

Simple though it may seem, the film does provoke some deep thinking and questions. When Mater is abducted was he kidnapped, hijacked or car jacked? And with all the accessories like jet propulsion could Mater and Finn be considered hybrids? And the question that is gnawing at everyone’s minds: Is the pope mobile catholic?

There’s nothing objectionable in this film for children and plenty of good principles including the value of friendship and family as well as believing in yourself plus plenty of action and humor to satisfy both kids and adults. But I’m not completely sold on the title. Cars 2 feels like an expanded version of the numerous Maters’ Tall tales featurettes
That air on the Disney Channel. That’s a switch: Toy Story as the short film and Maters’ movie as the feature. The producers could easily have named this film ‘Maters’ Taller Tales’. But whatever the name, you can still drive it to the bank.