Cars 2 (2011)

Featured Audience Ratings

• John M

  
  First pretty sure the 3d was useless. Really not needed. Second this is Pixar and the movie looked amazing. Nothing short of stunning. The problem with Cars 2 is it really is the mater show. My daughter liked the entire movie. But to me it was James Bond with mater. Unfortunately for… More
  First pretty sure the 3d was useless. Really not needed. Second this is Pixar and the movie looked amazing. Nothing short of stunning. The problem with Cars 2 is it really is the mater show. My daughter liked the entire movie. But to me it was James Bond with mater. Unfortunately for me Larry the Cable Guy is not my cup of tea and his humor ratcheted it up to be every minute of the show was a bit much to me. The good parts of Cars 2 is that everyone else does actually do well in their parts and makes it worth while. By far not the best Pixar movie but far from horrible. My daughter enjoyed the whole thing from beginning to end and was extremely happy.

• Roy G

  
  Not much engine-power here.

• ♥˩ƳИИ &

  
  Cast: Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Eddie Izzard, John Turturro, Brent Musburger, Joe Mantegna, Thomas Kretschmann, Peter Jacobson, Bonnie Hunt, Cheech Marin Director: Brad Lewis, John Lasseter Summary: Owen Wilson once again voices speedy… More
  Cast: Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Eddie Izzard, John Turturro, Brent Musburger, Joe Mantegna, Thomas Kretschmann, Peter Jacobson, Bonnie Hunt, Cheech Marin Director: Brad Lewis, John Lasseter Summary: Owen Wilson once again voices speedy race car Lightning McQueen in this peppy sequel to the animated hit Cars. When he heads off to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix, Lightning also rolls straight into a case of international intrigue. My Thoughts: "In my opinion, it's better then the last film. I enjoyed the story and the character's so much more in this film then I did in the last. Larry is very funny as Mater and I loved the newly added character's. I wouldn't mind seeing this one again."

• Kevin C

  
  And one of those stars is for Hawaiian Vacation. Cars 2 is not only dull and uninspired, but it's a depressingly lazy effort from Lasseter. I dislike this film not because I expected more from Pixar. I dislike it because it sucks.

• Douglas W C

  
  Another perfect pixar.

• Brad W

  
  Cars 2........they could've made The Incredibles 2, Ratatouille 2, Bugs Life 2, or Finding Nemo 2, but no, they took the worst Pixar film in the series, and made a sequel. Cars 2 has two storylines, one about Lightning McQueen competing in the Grand Prix in three different… More
  Cars 2........they could've made The Incredibles 2, Ratatouille 2, Bugs Life 2, or Finding Nemo 2, but no, they took the worst Pixar film in the series, and made a sequel. Cars 2 has two storylines, one about Lightning McQueen competing in the Grand Prix in three different countrys, and the other about Mater getting caught up in a secret agent agency, a 007 sort of thing. After returning from winning his 4th Piston Cup, Lightning McQueen returns to Radiator Springs and Mater is so excited to hang out with his best buddy. When Mater sees a famous race car on TV bad mouthing Lightning, Mater challenges him to have Lightning race at the Grand Prix, Lightning intervenes and agrees to the race. He takes his whole crew including Mater along for the ride. Once there, Mater leaks oil and goes to the bathroom, and soon gets caught up in secret agents believing he is one of them. When this makes Lightning lose his first race, he yells at Mater, and this causes Mater to want to go home so he cant interfere anymore. When at the airport, Mater is taken by Finn Mcmissile, a secret agent who believes Mater is one too. Soon Mater becomes a field agent, and he must save the world, but the problem is, its Mater, remember? The plot of Cars 2 was good for about 30 minutes, but soon this whole secret agent storyline just became stupid and me wanting it too end, I would've enjoyed it much more if they had just stuck to one of Pixars famous storylines that we love, but it doesn't teach us any lessons other than Pixar is running out of ideas, the Lightning McQueen storyline teaches us about friendship, but isn't that what Toy Story, Monsters Inc, Up, Cars 1, Ratatouille, and Finding Nemo were all about so no new lessons were taught to us, I think this movie was good when the McQueen storyline was happening, but that's because Mater isn't main protagonist material, and that's what they do. Owen Wilson doesn't get much to do here, because they leave all the work to Larry the Cable Guy, and although I enjoyed Mater in the first, making him the star was stupid because we all got to love McQueen and wanted more of him. I also would like to point out some very stupid and cheesy dialogue, some of the jokes or just plain moments where they speak in this film are cheesy and stupid. The jokes were not all that great either, I would be lying if I said I never laughed, there are some real gut busting jokes here, but after one funny joke we have to waith a half hour til another good one, that was my problem with the comedy. But to my main surprise and the highlight of the film, this is by far, the best looking Pixar film to date, and has some of the greatest animation I have ever seen in a computer animated film, they recreate famous cities, action scenes, great race scenes, landscapes, and beautiful car animation. Cars 2 had some great voice acting also, Micheal Caine was amazing, and even though Mater wasn't as good in this, he still had some funny lines and good voice acting. They also tried to make the ending exactly like the first, which didn't work for me. Overall cars 2 was better than Cars 1, but its still tied with Cars 1 as the worst of the Pixar films, and thanks a lot Cars 2, you ruined Pixars good reviews streak. It has great animation, a few great jokes, great voice work, and had many memorable and great moments, but it was also cheesy, badly plotted, some stupid jokes and felt like it was only better than the first because there is more going on here, but with less Lightning McQueen and more Mater I felt that I wasn't getting a good sequel, but it was still better than the first.

• Albert K

  
  Haters gon hate. Some claim that "Cars 2" is the black sheep of Pixar and while I agree to some degree, that statement is too strong in itself. The visuals are absolutely dazzling to watch. It was created picture perfect with great direction. Incredibly enjoyable. However,… More
  Haters gon hate. Some claim that "Cars 2" is the black sheep of Pixar and while I agree to some degree, that statement is too strong in itself. The visuals are absolutely dazzling to watch. It was created picture perfect with great direction. Incredibly enjoyable. However, compared to many Pixar previous iterations, the heart, emotion, and themes were very light. The storytelling, though better than most animated movies, was lacking contrary to Pixar's movies. Nevertheless, Cars 2 was very entertaining.

• Lewis C

  
  I like the direction Pixar decided to go with Cars 2. Turning it into a globe-trotting spy flick is a fun and interesting way to continue the story without having to retread anything that happened in the first movie. With that said, I am not a fan of Mater, and the fact that… More
  I like the direction Pixar decided to go with Cars 2. Turning it into a globe-trotting spy flick is a fun and interesting way to continue the story without having to retread anything that happened in the first movie. With that said, I am not a fan of Mater, and the fact that he's essentially the main character of the movie is not exactly my cup of tea. I can completely understand how kiddos love him and find him hilarious, but he annoys me to no end. So, as much as I enjoyed some parts of Cars 2 (including the addition of Emily Mortimer, who automatically makes anything better), I can't say I'll be eager to see it again soon. It's bright, vivid and looks amazing, and there's a nice little story of being true to oneself at the heart of it, but the Mater overload is just too much for me. Cars 2 can't compare to the best Pixar has to offer, but there's a 99.99% chance that there's a young one in your life that will have a blast watching it (and playing with the toys that you're inevitably going to have to purchase afterwards).

• Dean M

  
  The sequel of <i>Cars</i> hits the road with a dash of James Bond and a flourish of Austin Powers - fabulous! The childish race movie has been souped-up into a '60s spy romp. The animation is amazing. Water, large balloons, backgrounds during races... pay attention… More
  The sequel of <i>Cars</i> hits the road with a dash of James Bond and a flourish of Austin Powers - fabulous! The childish race movie has been souped-up into a '60s spy romp. The animation is amazing. Water, large balloons, backgrounds during races... pay attention because the quality of the graphics in this one are world-class. There are some goofy, funny moments and some nice one- liners for the older crowd. The themes of being true to yourself and bonds of friendship run strong throughout this film but it's the remainder of the message that worried me. I can see this entire movie was based around Matar (voiced by Larry the Cable Guy) and that is what made it funny. But for some people there was to much of him and not enough of the original Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson). The voices do what they do best. Director John Lasseter knows what to do in this movie. The action keeps everything moving. Watching the car fighting scenes is like watching a kid playing his little toy cars and let them do something fun. Which is pretty impressive.

• Shawn E

  
  I love Pixar, but for the first time I was quite disappointed by their film. When I remember back to the first Cars film, it had a really good theme of slowing down and enjoying life instead of always racing towards the next finish line. After watching Cars 2 I felt kind of lost to… More
  I love Pixar, but for the first time I was quite disappointed by their film. When I remember back to the first Cars film, it had a really good theme of slowing down and enjoying life instead of always racing towards the next finish line. After watching Cars 2 I felt kind of lost to what the theme was. I really didn't buy into the whole "cars with guns" and cars blowing each other up. I'm still unsure why Pixar would choose their weakest film to produce a sequel. Although disappointing, Cars 2 is still watchable, even through it's gimmicky qualities.

• Scott G

  
  It was a disappointment that this installment did not get as much recognition as it's predecessor, and it failed to meet Pixar's usual standard.

• Kalel J

  
  Fast and flashy, CARS 2 is about style, aesthetics, and boyhood liveliness. As a film primarily catering to young kids, its bright colours and whizzing caricatures will work, but there is a lot to this film that leaves it as a dissapointment, especially being from a studio with such a… More
  Fast and flashy, CARS 2 is about style, aesthetics, and boyhood liveliness. As a film primarily catering to young kids, its bright colours and whizzing caricatures will work, but there is a lot to this film that leaves it as a dissapointment, especially being from a studio with such a strong track record. From the standpoint of its plot, it holds a rare complexity for a studio that focuses on more naturally emotional hooks. Multi-story arcs intertwining with real-life issues gives what is essentially a basic film an intriguing level of layers. Resources, modern oil barons, and the sad state of blocking potential revolutions in fuel give an outlandish film a link with the affairs surrounding us. But what CARS 2 ultimately lacks is cohesion in its many ideas and scenarios, and a grounded sense of awareness for its characters and their place. It almost feels as if too many things are happening in the film, meaning that nothing in particular ends up amounting to much.

• Mike S

  
  James Bond-inspired sequel, which despite the generally low ratings, is just as cool and entertaining as the original. I really have no idea why this is considered the weaker of the two, because when it comes to the amount of fun, they're running a very tight race. I guess the… More
  James Bond-inspired sequel, which despite the generally low ratings, is just as cool and entertaining as the original. I really have no idea why this is considered the weaker of the two, because when it comes to the amount of fun, they're running a very tight race. I guess the major difference is that this one is a little more action-packed. For better or worse, it's also Mater's movie more than it is Lightning McQueen's. So if you're a fan of the former, you have a lot to look forward to here. What keeps both films from reaching greatness, however, is a very simple reason altogether: cars don't make great animated characters. Sure, you can put eyes and mouths on them and bring them to life with a crème de la crème voice cast. But that doesn't change the fact that they're very limited and confined when it comes to their visual expressions. With animals, or even robots, you get a whole range of vivid and life-like emotions. Whereas with cars...well, they're really just talking vehicles. More made to sell toys it seems, than provide audiences with something fresh and exciting. On the plus side though, it's very dashing in its color palettes and settings. And with the welcome addition of Michael Caine to the cast, there's a lot more good things to underscore than there is in terms of negatives. A solid follow-up, which although not something I'll be seeing again, delivered enough laughs and thrills to keep my attention on the track.

• Luke B

  
  What the hell is this? I'm surprised Pixar had any hand in the creation of this film. It plays like one of Disney's direct-to-DVD features. A sequel in name only. Cars was a disappointment to me, but I understood it aimed at a younger audience. Cars 2 does this also, but… More
  What the hell is this? I'm surprised Pixar had any hand in the creation of this film. It plays like one of Disney's direct-to-DVD features. A sequel in name only. Cars was a disappointment to me, but I understood it aimed at a younger audience. Cars 2 does this also, but also includes fairly violent scenes, unforgivable stereotypes, and not a single laugh. They choose one of the side characters to be the lead this time around for God knows what reason. They choose the most annoying character of all. An absolute fucktard of a creation. Worst of all, it gives a message to kids that it's OK to be an ignorant obnoxious fool in other countries, and that it's fine if you're stupid. Why is Mater played out as sympathetic? He literally ruins everything. On top of that we have a plot where the idiot is seen as the hero. This has been done hundreds of times before, but never this poorly. Cars wasn't even an action film to begin with. A change of genre, putting an annoying sidekick as the lead, more terrible puns, and you have Cars 2. The only highlights are the races and action scenes, but at 1 hour and 47 minutes, they really outstay their welcome.

• Michael E

  
  Well Pixar has done it again. Cars 2 may not be the best Pixar has done , it is still fun to watch. Many new voice actors were brought in for this movie, Eddie Izzard, Jeff Gordon, Michael Caine, Jeff Garlin, Bruce Campbell and many others, my favorite was Michael Caine. Caine is good… More
  Well Pixar has done it again. Cars 2 may not be the best Pixar has done , it is still fun to watch. Many new voice actors were brought in for this movie, Eddie Izzard, Jeff Gordon, Michael Caine, Jeff Garlin, Bruce Campbell and many others, my favorite was Michael Caine. Caine is good in most things, and this spy character he pulls off perfectly. AS with most Pixar movies the animation is top notch, and the final 25 minutes are great amounts of CG. The film does start out kind of stupid but it then gets really entertaining. My only gripe i have about the movie, is how it differs a lot from the firstr film, the first film was a racing movie and very heartwarming, this one is more of an action movie and spy movie than a racing movie, plus the plot is all over the place. But the comedy is still spot on with this movie, it still has all the original characters as the original, Mater, Sally, Flo, Ramone, Sarge, Filmore, Guido, Luigi, the only one not there is Doc Hudson. Now i was wondering how they were going to do Doc for the movie, if they were going to kill him off, or if they were going to get another voice actor for him like they did for Slinky in the new Toy Story. Speaking of Toy Story there is a fantastic short film before the movie that is about all the Toy Story 3 characters having a hawaian vacation. if you are looking for a fun and entertaining animated film definitely check this out. 3/0* out of 5 Review originally written 6/25/2011

• Alexis N

  
  I got free tickets to see this movie from Statefarm Insurance, which was cool. I really didn't even like the first one. But I really liked this one so much better. It was cute, heart filled and funny. I loved Holly Shiftwell. This movie if fun for the whole family.

• Michael M

  
  Cars 2 is a bigger visual achievment than its predecessor but it's story is hard to follow as its muzzled up in so many places. Suprisingly, Mater doesn't turn out to be an appauling central chracter and it has its moments but no matter what happens in Cars 2, nothing can… More
  Cars 2 is a bigger visual achievment than its predecessor but it's story is hard to follow as its muzzled up in so many places. Suprisingly, Mater doesn't turn out to be an appauling central chracter and it has its moments but no matter what happens in Cars 2, nothing can make up for the problems of the storyline.

• Matheus C

  
  Wow. Pixar managed to make a boring children's film with annoying characters. Maybe it would have been better had it focused on the Michael Caine character. But even I can't deny the cars look so utterly cool and collectible.

• Will C

  
  Pixar is my favorite company but "Cars" has always been at the bottom of my list of the films they've made. "Cars" is the the most mediocre film with it's cliche storyline of "hot shot celebrity learns how to be thankful." This sequel, I'm… More
  Pixar is my favorite company but "Cars" has always been at the bottom of my list of the films they've made. "Cars" is the the most mediocre film with it's cliche storyline of "hot shot celebrity learns how to be thankful." This sequel, I'm afraid, isn't any different. In fact, it might worst. The reason "Cars" and Cars 2" aren't good is because of the fact that talking cars aren't all that interesting. For some reason, I find talking toys, talking fish, and talking bugs a lot more fascinating than a world full of ICE. "Cars 2" has an over complicated plot, especially for kids, that involves spies all over the world, and the James Bond feel that story goes for doesn't work. Perhaps the worst thing about the film is its unbearably slow dialogue. The script is dull and boring. One thing you can always count on from Pixar is its great animation that's nowhere remotely close to any other company. The many views of well known landscapes around the world are beautiful and every color in "Cars 2" is filled with whimsy. That said, this is Pixar's worst film. John Lasseter is a genius storyteller, don't get me wrong, but every director has their flop. This is his. You know a movie isn't that good when the animated short before it is better.

• Phil H

  
  Split right down the middle with this new Pixar flick, never really got on with the first one as I found the idea of a whole film around talking cars just too clunky an idea to work. Its a fun idea of course going back to 'Herbie' but there's little that can be done… More
  Split right down the middle with this new Pixar flick, never really got on with the first one as I found the idea of a whole film around talking cars just too clunky an idea to work. Its a fun idea of course going back to 'Herbie' but there's little that can be done with cars in my view, apart from obvious door movements and windscreen/headlights as eyes, its also hard to relate to cars as characters like you can with toy or even bug characters, probably because we all know they are mechanical and not living things. Anyway, on the downside the whole thing isn't very original, its just a rehashed story with different characters and basically it HAD to have a race in it. For me the whole James Bond spoof side to it was poor and lacked imagination, we've seen this so so many times now its just dull plus what the cars get up to is just too daft to enjoy really, you can tell the creators had a real hard time trying to get a car to move as if it was a real living person involved in espionage and generally it looks pretty stupid. I still can't stand the redneck voice provided by 'Larry the Cable guy' (use your real name you idiot!!), Caine as 'McMissile' was uninspired and cliched, Izzard was miscast with his voice, dunno how he keeps getting work and I didn't like or understand why all the police and military cars in the UK sequences had stupid big hats on, looked like something out of a children's afternoon cartoon. On the plus side like all Pixar films it looks totally beautiful and silky smooth, I absolutely loved what they did with Japan, how it looked with the graphic designs, neon logo's, all the Japanese cars being small clean and compact, the little bed cubicles where you go to sleep, the futuristic toilets accompanied by little cartoon helpers on a screen etc...it all looked exactly as Tokyo, Japan should and is in reality. All the countries the cars visit are all rendered amazingly well with perfect little touches to express that countries uniqueness and quirks, the same can be said for all the cars too, each country has all the regular cars you would see driving around in reality and they all look so real and shiny hehe. Of course some vehicles look better than others but its fun to spot all different types of cars throughout the film, much like spotting all your favourite toys from your childhood whilst watching 'Toy Story'. In the end I love this film for its crystal clear pinpoint pixels and how gorgeous it looks, on the other hand there wasn't much in the film that was very fulfilling and memorable (like allot of new cgi films these days), not overly funny, exciting or emotionally grabbing...just a simple OK. I would say its better than the first as it has atad more depth but in the end with all the vehicles with faces including planes, trains and ships I kinda felt like I was watching a mix of 'Thomas the Tank Engine', 'Jimbo and the Jet Set' 'Little Red Tractor' and 'Bob the Builder'.

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