Cars 2 proves that even Pixar is capable of making a lemon.
Kids, the film's target audience, aren't going to get the James Bond references in the film's lazy, half-baked spy story structure, nor will they have a clue about the plot that involves, of all things, an attempt to subvert the use of alternative fuels. It seems all the effort that went into making the film was devoted to its impressive animation.
But great as it looks, Cars 2 lacks the heart and warmth that set Pixar's films apart from those of rival studios. And it can't overcome the sluggishness of a weak story that needed the care of a few more rewrites.
Instead, Cars 2 feels like a slapdash series of underdeveloped threads, one of which involves Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) traveling overseas to participate in a series of Grand Prix races. But the Talladega Nights-inspired rivalry between Lightning and a trash-talking open-wheel Italian race car (John Turturro) is barely explored.
This time around the track, Lightning McQueen is more of a secondary player. His pal Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) takes center stage as the buck-toothed hick tow truck with a heart of gold. He's a cute if occasionally annoying character, a sweet-natured oaf designed to become a plush doll squeezed by kids the world over. The joke of the movie is that while attending the first overseas Grand Prix, Mater becomes embroiled in a plot to destroy the race cars when he is taken for an American spy by British super agent Finn McMissile (Michael Caine). McMissile thinks Mater's doofus routine is a brilliant ruse.
It doesn't take long for Mater to realize that other people view him as slow and dim-witted. His life-changing moment ties into the film's main message about friendship and accepting others as they are. But Cars 2, undone by a hurried pace, doesn't earn its sentiments.
It would have been nice if the Pixar team had conjured up the wit and playfulness displayed in the Toy Story short "Hawaiian Vacation," that precedes the film. It has enough charm and laughs to tickle the kid in all of us.
