Cars 2 (John Lasseter and Brad Lewis, 2011) Review

*sigh* I brought this on myself didn't I...I just had to go and review Cars and forgot that there was a sequel. It wouldn't be such as problem if it weren't Pixar's 'dud' film. What do I mean? It's the runt of the litter of Pixar films and is easily, without a shadow of a doubt, the worst one. There are plenty of reasons why this is the worst Pixar films (and the only one to get a rotten rating over at Rotten Tomatoes) so let's drive in (again...I apologise).

After the events of the first film, Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) does a lot less racing now and has learnt to slow down. This was fine until a new grand prix sponsored by the natural oil Allinol created by Sir Miles Axlerod (Eddie Izzard). When Francesco Bernoulli (John Tuturro) challenges Lightning to join in the Grand Prix, he accepts and he and his pit crew (made up of Mater, Sarge, Filmore, Luigi and Guido) head around the world to compete. Meanwhile, a British spy named Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) is trying to uncover a secret plot created by 'lemon' cars headed by Professor Z (Thomas Kretschmann). Accompanied by rookie spy Holly Shiftwell (Emily Blunt), they mistake Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) as an American spy and recruit him to help stop the 'lemons' from their plan of ruining the Grand Prix and killing everyone powered on Allinol.

You may have noticed that their are two plots this time. The racing half is really great. Lightning and Francesco's rivalry is fun to watch and the actors work well with the characters. The other half...feels off. Mater is given the lead role this time, over Lightning, in order to focus more on the spy adventure. This is the problem. The spy parts are great and all but I can't escape the feeling that I would rather watch the racing. I said in my review for Cars that it was for racing fans...not this time. The racing sections are pushed aside to make way for the spy adventure. You can guess that this is a bad thing. I came here for racing and I only got a bit of racing.

This is definitely the most uncalled for film in Pixar history. Of all the films they could have seen get a sequel, Cars was the one that really DIDN'T need a sequel. This film didn't need to exist and, frankly, shouldn't. It isn't a terrible film...only by Pixar standards is it. Sure it's funny and it does lead to a pretty entertaining conclusion, it's just not enough to justify the rest of the film. It's the first Pixar film in a long time to not be nominated to an academy award and after Toy Story 3 and Up, this is just unacceptable.

Cars 2 is the worst Pixar film. It doesn't hold up on it's own very well and it's a real shame that they even made this film. They could have done Brave last year instead and that would mean we would have Monsters University this year but nope, we got this above average film instead. It's worth at least one watch because they are some great moments and it is funny but, again, it isn't enough to justify the rest of the film.

Verdict:
5.5/10
An above average Pixar film. It has some great moments and is funny but it is hands down the worst Pixar film yet.