It improves on the first Cars, but only marginally

Rating: 4/10 (17 July 2016)

Cars 2 was a movie that I expected, hands down, to be Pixar's worst movie. And after seeing it, it actually isn't, though the amount of polarization it has is close to films like Robin Hood or The Good Dinosaur, except worse. The story throughout most of the film is rather clunky and often goes by way too inconsistently (the last act nearly fixes this), doesn't solve questions we had about its universe in the first Cars, and preaches some questionable and even objectionable messages (some comments detail this). The sole undeniable plus about this film is its animation (because, you know, Pixar), depicting the settings superbly and with so many colors, even if it depicts more explosions than a Michael Bay movie. The characters are the most mixed of all, though the highest point they can reach is the tolerable-yet-forgettable zone. The James Bond style characters introduced here were closer to the top than the racing characters, especially Francesco. For most of the movie, Mater was quite boring or insufferable, though inched his way more towards tolerable by the last act. It all sums up to be a movie that I would advise you skip, no matter how much it improves its elements compared to Cars.