Lovely graphics, overplayed characters, and a weak plot.

Rating: Null/10 (24 August 2011)

If there's any company I would kill to work for more than Google, it'd be Pixar. I think John Lasseter is brilliant. He could easily be described as the Lucas of animation – vision, drive, extreme creativity and organization – but he's missed the mark on more that one occasion with A Bug's Life and the first Cars movie. Maybe he should be creatively steering the company, not directing – don't continue to be a Lucas.
Cars 2 centers on a sort spy story crossed with complete incompetence. Think Johnny English with a little Naked Gun thrown in, but less slapstick and more characters screaming "WHOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAA" every five minutes. The trailers promised cool race scenes set in exotic locations, much like Speed Racer, but never really delivered on any good car action (ha!). I try to view kids movies as a kid – enjoying the pretty colors, loud sounds, and over-the-top action. Cars 2 never grabbed my interest – too many cluttered sets, scattered plot, and too much Larry the Cable Guy.
I'm not opposed to big-name voice actors when they get in to a character (I almost forgot Jack Black was voicing Poalmost), but Owen Wilson and Larry the Cable Guy are completely overbearing in any situation. They ruined what could have been a fun kid movie in Cars and crushed the life out of Cars 2. I suppose when the lynch-pin of your story relies on a character voiced by a Southern hick persona created by a Mid-Western comedian, you might take a big gamble. Unfortunately critics and moviegoers reinforced Pixar's decisions in a big way opening weekend and without a doubt an annoying Cars 3 will hit theaters in a few years.
I can't review a Pixar film without touching on the beautiful art of animation. Every shiny bit, piece of dust, fleck of water was art in motion. Pixar, hands down, is killing everybody when it comes to CG animation. I would love to see them take on visual effects for a live- action film. I think they could up the standard for the rest of the industry, not that it stops DreamWorks from cranking out their junk every 4 months. It's a shame they didn't have the typical strong story to compliment the talent in the animation department.
While the lovely graphics raised Cars 2 to watchable levels, overplayed characters and a weak plot don't do much for this movie. Even the short felt phoned in with recycled Toy Story characters and sets. At least I got to see the Brave trailer. Mmm.