Cars 2 (2011)

Although Pixar's computer animation qualities are clearly improved year after year, they seem to have forgotten how to deliver a wholesome movie with a strong storyline, brilliant gags and true quality all around. Before, their movies were labors of love, and you could see on screen the devotion to an art that they invented almost single handedly (remember the gags on the end credits?). Now, it's one movie every Summer, already thinking on the next one (yes, the teaser for "Brave" - summer 2012 is already out there). The movies seem to come out of one single idea, which is stretched out to the fullest, stick to it, and deliver little more. "Ratatouille", the last Pixar great (for me that is) was followed by "Wall-E", a movie which is based on the principle that all the world is, and will be, made out of the weirdest of all races: Americans. As "Cars", "Wall-E" is an american product, with an American-appealing-storyline, just for Americans, and disguises that with a supposed save-the-world moral, just as the first "Cars" had a sort of urban-planning-be-careful-with-progress moral. "Up" was a brilliant film... the first 10 minutes. Then it had an awful plot with the stupidest villain ever (send me an e-mail if you wish me to explain this). "Toy Story 3" was a brilliant film... the last 30 minutes. The first half was boring as hell, and a repetition of the first two Toy Stories. Does Pixar only invest talent on half of it's films and then relaxes for the rest? "Up" and "Toy Story 3" seem to say so. I have never seen movies with such huge gaps between their two halves. Anyway, I wasn't expecting much on "Cars 2", but whatever I was expecting, it wasn't this! Definitely, the worst movie Pixar ever produced! "Cars 2" is all over the place and nowhere in particular. There are no gags, and I probably laughed once. The plot is boring and highly predictable. And, worst of all, the main character isn't Lightning McQueen... it's Mater! This looks like a Disney Chanel special... a Mater adventure. In that sense, it will appeal to kids, the movie is full of colors, cute cars, and nice songs. It will surely distract them and entertain. But c'mon, this is Pixar, the pinnacle of animation worldwide! What is this? "Cars 2" starts as a "Johnny English/Austin Powers" spy spoof. And stays that way a long time. The difference, and supposed gag, is that they are all cars! The villain, a car with a monocle... How cute... NOT! The first movie had the brilliance of showing a world of cars, where everything else was car related: the shops where filling stations or tire stands, etc, etc. But the second destroys that beautiful universe created and substitutes it for one just like ours, only that instead of people, there are cars. Go to Japan: geisha cars. Go to France: a car with a painter's hat. Go to London: Big Bently instead of Big Ben. Ok, funny the first couple of times. But not the whole movie. So, there is a World Gran Prix (world meaning Japan, Italy and London), in which Lightning McQueen is entering. There is an evil plot behind the race, relating to a natural fuel that may substitute oil (Pixar's save-the-world-usual-plot). McQueen and Mater have a fight (Pixar's-best-friend-fight-usual-plot), and shortly after Mater is mistaken by a spy, is recruited by James Bondish Michael Caine, and a Hitchcockian mistaken identity ensues, around the world. So, 90% of the movie, Mater is the main character, and McQueen is only shown when racing. Mater, funny in the first film, here gets a little boring. His jokes are all similar (hence his side character status!), and although they amuse, the repetition becomes tiresome. Now, about the whodunit. Every whodunit film has a setback. The villain has to be someone the movie has shown, so the possibilities are limited. In "Cars 2", the Blofeld-like character, right from the start, can only be one car. There are no more characters in the film, so the villain can only be that one! There is not even one character to throw suspicions the other way, as is custom in these types of films. So, 90 minutes later, when it is "surprisingly" revealed, there is actually no surprise. A lot more I could say, but I lack the time and the patience. "Cars 2" is a Saturday morning adventure. A movie that can be made without risk, and does not interfere with any character development, so that a Cars 3 can be made without effort either. To focus the film on Mater was a bad move. To make the movie a spy spoof was a bad move also, because it was not properly done. The only enjoyable thing was going to all the cities around the world, but the conversion people-to-car is worn out in the first city. Very disappointing film from Pixar. Even worse than the first "Cars", and that's saying a lot. This one was personally directed by the big man himself, Mr. John Lasseter. Please, Mr. Lasseter, choose another direction for your company. Remember the good old early days.