Holy bad reviews, Batman!

Pixar's films never failed to make me cry. And 'Cars 2' is no exception. But it was the tear of 'I feel like I've been betrayed' rather than the usual joyful tear.

Even with all those bad reviews, Cars 2 was still shockingly awful, underline the word shockingly. It doesn't even feel like a sequel to 'Cars'. Everything felt so bland, even the main-focused-character. The storyline was so mediocre that you have to wonder why did they go with this one? Did they really think that by making story that takes places all over the world, will get them international? The jokes fell flat, the action was frustrating, and even the heart, the one thing they never failed, was completely non-existing. I bet they finished the script in two days.

Yes, the animation was flawless yet soulless.

Oh, the Toy Story short was meh as well. And they didn't even show the trailer of 'Brave'! So, hand down, the worst experience I've ever had with Pixar films.

It's nowhere near the first one (and the first one wasn't even that good, but okay, certainly 10000x times better than this !@&?*), so let alone about improving.

I'd give it C/C-, but since it's from Pixar,

D+

lol

trollololololol

Brave trailer was fantastic. The Toy Story short was very good.

The movie was very enjoyable. Easily their most light hearted movie. They did try to put some emotion into it, but to no avail. Loved the mistaken spy storyline, and it didn't have any cheesy lines. Very good.

B+

ewwww

Pixar always made a film from a theme that is worth-telling though not necessary original. And from there on, they carefully built up the storyline around it, created the characters, gave them lives, added the heart, wittiness and ended their job with dazzling visuals.

In Cars 2, it seems like they started at the first step, and then jump to the final task.

The theme of 'accept your friends for who they are', might sounds tired at first, but actually very interesting, especially when you push the -sometime- annoying 'Mater' to the spotlight. I mean, you have to wonder; why would anyone want him as a friend, what would anyone could love about stupidity. Like when we were wondering; how could a robot learn to love? a rat to cook? an old man to fly his house?

Because his honesty, because you know that he will always stand for you, no matter what. Well, that's what is supposed to be the answer. And I think -I'm sure- they actually aim for this answer too.

Unfortunately, the script failed to do so.

I don't mind if they wanted to produce 'a love letter to James Bond' (or a love letter to the international audience for that matter). But at least make that letter be a part that belongs to the whole film. None of what happens in this film make me convinced that McQueen realizes the worth of his friend, Mater, to truly accept him for who he is. The whole thing was like 'they misunderstanding each other the first act, and suddenly be back together in the third act'. Stuffed in between is the silly (you've gotta see what they have for the twist) spy storyline that has nothing to do with any of this at all.

Don't let me start on the whole around-the-world car-racing thing.

Pixar always cared about their characters, their creations. Even those who're not the main/focused characters, still proudly co-existed with the main ones nicely. Cars 2 spent most of its screen time with its new-featured characters, plus Mater and McQueen. If you're wondering 'What about those guys -minus Mater and McQueen- from Radiator Springs?' Well, approximately, 7 minutes for each. That's okay, we're here to explore the new characters. But wait, which of these new characters to care for? Finn, A boring, dull spy? Or the other one, which, err, shit! I don't even remember her name.

Maybe they realized their failure. Maybe that's why Cars 2 turned out to be heartless. Maybe its' their intention. Because when you fail at the story and the character that in it, you have no chance at all in emotional impact, let alone the heart.

I can really see if someone enjoys this mindless, over-stuffed (nonsense stuffs) G-rated action flick. But this is certainly not what I'm looking for, especially from Pixar. You guys let me down, big time.

C-/D+

Saw it again?

ummmm... yes

I couldn't get into the detail of why I hated Cars 2. I was so shocked in my first viewing to gain any detail. So when I came back home, I watched the first Cars again, liked it better, and went to see Cars 2 again!

Well, 4 is the minimum number of theatrical viewing for a Pixar film. Cars 2 will stop at number two though.

You went from a D+ to a D+/C-. 9 more viewings and it'll be a solid A+!

I hope that. Because in next 10 years, when Bradley starts 'Pixar ranking; 2021 edition!' thread, I would love my list to be filled with either A or A-!

And excuse me, I didn't go from D+ to C-, I said..

that's exactly how Critics have been rating this film,,,,,,,,

I'm sure that if Rio had been a Pixar film it would have got the Cars 2 actual score, or if Cars 2 had been a Dreamworks/Blue Sky movie it would have got a mid 70 final grade,,,,,,,,,,,,

lol

yes, bryanjpg, that's how things work, not fair? LIFE IS NOT FAIR!

I disagree with you on all points.

Oh well.

It's also MUCH better than Cars.

I can SEE your D!

The first hour is pretty horrible, but the last 40 minutes is chock full of that Pixar charm and humor. It's pretty clear when Lasseter took control of the production.

Could Pixar make this kind of film in their sleep? Yes.

Did they? Probably.

I don't care though because I had fun watching it. Like filmlover said, it does lack a bit of emotion to it, and there were times where I just wanted Larry the Cable Guy/Mater to shut the fuck up, but I enjoyed it because the visuals and the racing/chase sequences are fantastic (where did the airport chase shown in the trailer go?). While it's one of Pixar's overall lesser efforts, it's right up there with Wall-E, Up and Toy Story 3 as being one of their best visual achievements.

***½ (B+)

It was a nice visual movie. Probably would have been great to have seen on Imax.

Easily the worst Pixar movie. It seemed Direct-to-DVD quality to me. But to be fair this just isn't my kind of movie and it has been a while since there's been a Pixar movie I've really liked. I think the last was Ratatouille. I'm just not big on animated movies. But the 7 year-old I saw it with thought it was awesome.

It's a mess. And I don't mean that in the usual way as just a way to call a film bad. I mean it's just a messily put together film. You've got the Bond stuff, the overall lemon villain storyline, the World Prix storyline, Mater + McQueen, and then they're trying to make a "The real world is cars, funny?" setting complete with parodies of foreign stereotypes and media members, which I suspect is the real reason they decided to make a Cars sequel. (they've never Pixarized the world before, it had potential... but just wasn't enough room here). All these ideas had potential on their own, they're just undercooked and it just doesn't flow together. This is the first time Pixar has overcomplicated things.

Kinda like your review.

I almost didn't see this in theatres because of the mediocre reviews and word-of-mouth, but, in the end, my allegiance to Pixar won out. Alas, it's more or less as bad as they say. It's the beloved animation studio's first cynical "because the merchandise sells incredibly well" product, and it's their first major fumble.

I did enjoy a few elements--notably the 007-esque spy cars voiced by Michael Caine and Emily Mortimer, as well as the detailed, colorful animation--but even those were relatively minor pleasures compared to the complex wonders of, say, Toy Story, Ratatouille, or WALL-E. Mostly Cars 2 is loud, obnoxious, and inert. Turning Owen Wilson's Lightning McQueen into a minor supporting character in order to further emphasize the Larry the Cable Guy-voiced imbecile Mater was a grave error. I could barely tolerate the rusty tow truck as a sidekick last time; he's truly headache-inducing here, where his y'all-heavy ramblings fill almost every scene. Mater is to me the viewer and this film's overall quality what the iceberg was to the Titanic.

At least the opening Toy Story short was adorable.

C-

Pbbt whatever Shack posts some of the best reviews on here.

F

Completely fucking disappointing. Not to such a great extent, because both the trailers and reviews pointed to this, but it is nonetheless.

The story is a joke and is so loosely connected together that it's a wonder that this came from the same studio that hit 11 straight home runs.

An alternative fuel is developed and is to be showcased in a 3 race Grand Prix. While McQueen races against stereotypes and merchandise monsters, Mater is mistaken for a spy and is recruited to solve the mystery of why lemons are at the Grand Prix. Answer: Because the developer and host of the GP has found a large area of undersea oil and being a lemon him-itself, he decides to sabotage his own alternative fuel so he can be rich with his newfound oil. B-b-but if he owns both, doesn't that mean he's already rich, I hear you cry, well, told you it's impossible the same people who gave us Toy Story came up with it.

Choice lines include "I'll never let you go Mater!" screamed by McQueen, what is this, some 90s boyband gay relationship? "I've never met anyone as smart as you Mater!" from the head spy McMissile, good to know that everyone in Cars-land is brain dead, and "Mater, you are such a charmer!" squeaks the half-hearted artificial love interest Shiftwell; Mater's charms include eating a tonne of wasabi and lapping water from a fountain that is for design only, an inability to understand simple phrases, words and situations and continuously acting like an ignorant redneck before and after the entire debacle, meaning for the first time in a Pixar movie, no character is round.

"I wanted to see how Mater would react in all these different situations" squeals John Lasseter as justification for this regret of a movie. Well, John, not sure what was so enticing about that when Mater acts the fucking same in every situation, everywhere he goes and the message of the film is "it's okay to be an idiot, the world must change for you otherwise they are stupid for not realizing your immense talent and culture behind the shade of idiocy".

A complete fucking mess and it's no wonder Larry the Cable Guy is so eager for the guys at Pixar to start a third and fourth so he can continue the legacy of the redneck hillbilly, because no one else gives a fuck about him and his brand of humour. "I improvise, because nobody can do what I do, *proceeds to imitate Mater's catchphrases*" Just because you are better at Gibberish than a real screenwriter doesn't mean you're good at anything fucktard. Why don't you go back to the trailer park you came from and try get a pig pregnant?

John Lasseter better not have fucked up Brave or Pixar. It's tragic to see them implode in such a way and one can only a hope the disease isn't terminal.