I had a very unusual experience seeing this movie in theaters.
I watched it, I had a great time, I laughed, cheered, was thrilled, and the moment the credits started to roll the people in the row behind me IMMEDIATELY started spouting off how much they HATED it. I was flabbergasted. I was sorely tempted to turn around and ask them if we even just saw the same movie? How could anyone hate something that's so much FUN?!
But after thinking about it, I could see actually why they didn't get into it. Cars 2 is the first Pixar movie where you really have to 'get the joke' of the premise, or the whole thing falls apart like a house of cards. What this movie is, is the best James Bond movie of the last 15 years (not counting Casino Royale which transcends Bond movies to be just a great spy movie), with a bit of The Accidental Spy thrown in.
I LOVE Bond movies. The crazy opening sequences, the insane gadgets, the quippy lines. And Cars 2 hit pitch perfect parodies of every Bond standard. But you could never say of any Bond movie that it's got a deep emotional core, that's not how they're made. They're made to be balls to the wall fun and thrills, and that's what this movie is. Which of course makes it the polar opposite of the original Cars. It could hardly be more different.
If you get the joke, that this is a James Bond movie with cars, it's a riot. Loads of fun. It's not deep, it's not going to tug at your heart strings, it will not make your mother cry three or four times (as virtually ever Pixar movie ever made prior has done to my mother, I take her to Pixar movies with a bucket). It's just riotous fun. And I'm amazed that people are punishing Pixar for making a movie that's just pure fun. Granted Pixar is famous for it's deep emotional stories, and I suppose people expect that sort of thing every time. Even if you make a fun and entertaining movie, if you don't do what people expect, they bite your head off for it.
I went in with few expectations cause the early reviews bashed it to pieces, and I was frankly not that big a fan of the original movie. In the first Cars McQueen spends an enormous amount of the movie whining, and I found him generally unlikeable until fully halfway through the movie. It was a good movie, with a lot of heart and a message, but not one I would describe as a lot of FUN. Mater especially, a little of him went a long way in the first movie, and I was really worried about him being the star of this movie, because if a little of him annoyed me in the first movie, this one has 10 times more of him.
And yet, he actually annoyed me LESS this time around, cause he had something to do instead of just hanging around being Mater. They struck a perfect balance in his 'mater-ness' where the Accidental Spy nature of his story is charming instead of just annoying. And even more to my amazement, Mater's unique perspective DOES actually help solve the mystery. He's not just a bumbling idiot gumming up the works, he does actually help.
I was also constantly amused at the imagination that went into Cars-ifying the world. Even little touches like the swanky party in Towkyo (not a typo! ha!), the elevators are giant pistons that come out of the floor. I didn't expect it at all but once I saw it was it was so perfect.
To sum up, I have to say, I enjoyed this movie MORE than the original Cars. Yet at the same time I'll fully agree that the original is a technically superior film in writing and character, but Cars 2 is way more fun. If you go into this with the right attitude, that you're seeing a James Bond movie with Cars, that it's meant to be pure fun and embrace it on that level, there's a lot to love.
The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is it IS shallow. I won't say it's a perfect film on every level cause it's not. But it doesn't deserve the hate it's getting, it's just a fun movie, and there's nothing wrong with that. If it doesn't quite transcend to the levels of brilliance of The Incredibles or Wall:E, that doesn't make it BAD, it suffers only in comparison to other Pixar work, compared to anything else, it rocks. :) Cars 2 (Five-Disc Combo: Blu-ray 3D / Blu-ray / DVD / Digital Copy)
I took my two year old son to Cars 2 as his first movie. We were so excited because Cars was his favorite movie and we all had been looking forward to seeing our first movie together as a family in the theater. Well, it started off decently but a bit violent. I am not one of those "opposed to all violence in movies and tv" kind of people but for a disney pixar movie clearly for very young kids, it was a bit much. My son was also disappointed that this movie was Mater-centric as he loved "Lightening McQueen" so much. Although my son is only two and didn't understand the plot, my wife and I were very angry. We are both tired of Hollywood pushing their far left agenda in movies and tv and pushing it so hard in a popular children's movie was too much for us. Fossil fuels and oil companies are not evil and "ethanol" is costly to our food supply and ineffective. I think there are some good forms of alternative energy and it is necessary for us to explore these options, but I digress. This movie portrays the oil industry as thugs and assassins and sends a bad message to kids. Hollywood, we are tired of it. Stop the lies and the spreading of your radical left agenda. Leave our kids alone. I am quite the DVD/Blu-Ray collector and this is one film I refuse to buy.
My son is 2 1/2 years old and loved both Cars and Cars 2. The naysayers, while entitled to their opinions, should probably have gone to the movies with a more light-hearted attitude. While my son did get up halfway through for a potty break, he thoroughly enjoyed this movie to the point that he has seen it four times. Granted, I would not have paid for him to see it four times, as I had movie passes from Toys 'R Us, but I definitely would have paid to take him more than once.
I agree with some of the warnings -- the crushing or exploding of some "good guys" and the lack of character development (I would have liked to know a little more about the other race cars that every toy store is selling in abundance). I do not agree, however, with those individuals who said it was boring or a flop. It is a spoof of Bond movies, with a perspective that kids can enjoy. I would recommend giving it a chance, especially if you have a child that loves all Disney films like my child.'
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