For some lore on this review series
After slew of Pixar movies that I had already seen we are back to one that was new to me – Cars 2. This movie wasn’t a total mystery to me has I heard a little bit about it before watching. Mainly that it was “bad” and that it was a spy movie centering around Mater. Of course that premise sounds insane but maybe, just maybe Cars 2 isn’t as “bad” as the internet thinks?
Or is it?
Unhinged & Audacious
While I liked the first Cars more tan I thought I would, I did find it very frustrating. If the whole movie and its world is just a little kid playing with his toys I could forgive the weirdness of the world but sentient cars that flippantly acting like people is just a mind-melt.
And the mind-melt is made a little worse by Cars 2.
Why does that one car have headlights for eyes and a steering wheel?
Positives Maybe?
The fact that is this spy movie is actually is more a less a perk, in a way. I mean at least it’s different from the first one. Is it unhinged? Yes, absolutely but at least it’s not a rehash.
I think Cars 2 was trying to experiment with the idea of seeing if they could spin-off the movies to focus on each of the side-characters and since Mater was highlight of the first movie it was easy to redirect the spotlight on him. Juxtaposing his character with slick tech-savvy spies is a natural contrast thus easy comedy. Although I think Mater is better in small doses rather than as the main character.
The Plot
On, the plot of this movie doesn’t make much sense and it also a lot. So the chief antagonist Axelrod is a CEO who is mocked for his model and wants to take revenge. Even though him being a “lemon” is a secret. He also claims to have created Allinol an “alternative fuel” to replace gasoline. So he sets-up a world Grand Prix race which is just a cover to discredit his own “alternative fuel” in favor of regular gas by making the racers use Allinol and then using a secret weapon disguised as a camera to over-heat the racers so they caught on fire during. This movie is for kids by the way.
This premise might suggest that “alternative fuel” was a threat the oil industry but Axelrod claimed he invented Allinol, unless I missed something. It’s also revealed that Allinol was just regular gas. So the reason why he supposedly wanted to discredit “alternative fuel” was being he’s company was sitting on a new oil supply and didn’t want to lose out on money but he was double dipping anyway and not sure about the Cars universe and customer protection.
What is even gas in this world? Is it akin to sustenance or alcohol? Because it’s sort of both. And why does this world have wasabi? Or pistachio ice cream? That would imply that there are cows or do the tractors that were cow-like in the first movie produce milk? I think my mind is melting again.
And all that compounds into Mater getting roped into being a spy and being pretty ok at it and figures it all out and saves the day.
It’s just such an unhinged movie. While I do appreciate that movie tried something new, a spy thriller in the cars universe featuring a side-character might have been a bridge too far for a cars sequel.
Final Thoughts
In scope of all the films I have ever watched, Cars 2 is by far NOT the worst one. It’s definitely is a weird, frustrating and utterly baffling movie. But if the world of Cars is just a kids playing with their toys any illogical aspects are kind of cute but if it really is just sentient cars than this movie series is fit to make my brain leak.
