A Good, Fresh Sequel,

Rating: 9/10 (25 July 2011)

Cars 2 is a terrific movie with a very well developed plot and a fantastic voice cast. It's a very fresh sequel to Cars, completely different. I loved the spy movie theme, it was a very clever device to use in this universe and putting Mater at the centre of this adventure was the right choice. The universe expands itself far beyond what we see in the first film, and it is truly gorgeous to watch.
It definitely has issues, it is missing heart, something that is very evident in the first Cars. It is there at times, but not nearly as powerful or heartwarming, it went for a comedic effect, which is fine, but for a Pixar movie I felt like it should have been much more sweet. As well as that, I think every character other than Mater is underused, McQueen is not in it nearly enough for the fact that he's suppose to be the main character of this series, and I definitely think Finn McMissile, superbly voiced by Michael Caine, could have had a much more prominent role, he is easily one of the best characters to come out of this franchise.
The film expands the Cars universe immensely, which I think is the highlight, the first one really only takes place in two locations, but here we get to see them go all around the world. We see the Cars equivalent of Tokyo, France, England, it is all very impressive and the animators certainly did not hold back, it looks very beautiful.
Simple family fun. It may be missing the heart that made the first Cars so great, but Cars 2 is a fun ride and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good family film.
Lightning McQuenn takes on the World Grand Prix along with his pit crew and his best pal Mater, who is mistaken for a spy and gets caught up in his own adventure.