Movie review: “Cars 2”
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A version of this story appears in Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman. 3 of 4 stars.
Movie review: “Cars 2”
Pixar steers off the high road and goes on a zippy, multi-track adventure custom built for gearheads, racing fans and little boys with its latest animated sequel.
The animation whizzes at Pixar shift from weightier fare to madcap action in “Cars 2,” a zippy, multi-track adventure custom built for gearheads, racing fans and little boys.
After posting the top-grossing and best-reviewed film of 2010 with “Toy Story 3,” it’s not surprising that Pixar and parent company Disney are taking another trip down sequel lane. Although 2006’s “Cars” is widely regarded as the closest Pixar has come to producing a clunker, it was a merchandising champ and a pet project of chief creative officer John Lasseter, a well-known car buff who returns to the director’s chair for the follow-up.
“Cars” has never ranked last with me, especially since its simply told tale of relishing life’s simple pleasures holds up fairly well to the repeated viewings insisted on by my 4 ½-year-old son, an outspoken Lightning McQueen-shoe-wearing member of the movie’s target audience.
Unlike its predecessor, “Cars 2” isn’t a simple story, with screenwriter Ben Queen steering it from a rural road trip to a globe-trotting racing adventure merged with a witty spy spoof. Packed with colorful characters, big action sequences and clever automotive references, Lasseter and Co. have to do some fancy driving to keep the movie on track, but they actually manage to pull it off.
The film opens with a parody/homage to James Bond, as super spy Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) snoops around a deep-sea oil rig on a secret mission for Her Majesty’s Secret Service. It seems the dastardly Professor Z (Thomas Kretschmann) is up to no good, but Finn has to fight through the German villain’s pack of henchmen and escape before he can uncover who the bad professor is working for.
In the sleepy Route 66 town of Radiator Springs, low-beam tow truck Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) is eagerly awaiting the return of his best pal, racer Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson), who has been busy winning the Piston Cup. Although Radiator Springs hasn’t been the same since his mentor Doc Hudson (the late Paul Newman, whom the filmmakers wisely don’t even attempt to replace) drove off to that big garage in the sky, McQueen is looking forward to a relaxing summer stay-cation in his adopted hometown.
But faster than you can wave a checkered flag, Mater bumps Lightning into the lineup of the inaugural World Grand Prix, a race through Tokyo, Paris and the fictional Italian town of Porto Corsa, ancestral home of McQueen’s pals Luigi (Tony Shalhoub) and Guido (Guido Quaroni).
Sir Miles Axelrod (Eddie Izzard), a pricey SUV who has turned electric, is planning the international road rally to tout his new alternative fuel Allinol, but for McQueen, the Grand Prix offers a chance to take on trash-talking Formula One victor Francesco Bernoulli (John Turturro, employing his funniest, broadest Italian accent).
Although he usually leaves Mater behind when he goes racing, Lightning decides to take his best bud along on the overseas outing. Their friendship hits a big pothole when Mater’s usual small-town rube routine embarrasses McQueen in front of his high-octane friends.
When the tow truck crosses paths with British agent-in-training Holly Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer), she confuses Mater’s expertise with rare car parts for knowledge of the case she is working with Finn. Mistaking him for their deep-cover American counterpart, Holly and Finn pull Mater into an espionage escapade that ties into the Grand Prix and a fleet of lemon cars who want to see Allinol crash and burn.
Although Larry the Cable Guy’s shtick soon wears on the nerves, Lasseter keeps the movie zooming along too quickly for the comedian to becoming too annoying. While the alternative-fuel storyline will go over the heads of children, the filmmakers keep “Car 2” on a kid-friendly fast-track. But attentive adults will catch a plethora of sight gags, one-liners and cameos just for them.
Pixar fans expecting the hefty themes and nuanced storytelling of “WALL-E,” “Up” or even the “Toy Story” films will consider the sequel a car wreck. But downshift into the right mindset, and “Cars 2” is just a fun and fast detour from the studio’s usual high road.
Plus, “Cars 2” reunites fans with the “Toy Story” gang in the entertaining pre-film short “Hawaiian Vacation.”
— BAM
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