Visitors Review

(2012-05-26 12:32)

Mater vs the World

By now, most of you have read the spoiler reviews. It wasn't the movie I had anticipated plot/story wise, but an interesting character development for Mater. I was delighted to hear Michael Caine as Finn Mc Missle. Perfect. It is a good addition to my Disney/Pixar collection that both my grandchildren and I enjoy.

(2012-05-25 15:15)

Serviceable

From reading some of the reviews here, there is almost joy in condemning Cars 2 as not up to the impressive standard of previous Pixar films. I think it is troubling to see the trend for people to take some much joy in seeing something fail.Well Cars 2 isn't really a failure. If anything, it is as good a sequel as could be expected. The original Cars was arguably the weakest Pixar film before this one. There is something about the concept itself not as sustainable for a full length story as talking ants, furry monsters or old toys. Despite an incredible attention to detail and excellent work by animators, anthropomorphic automobiles for some reason just aren't that interesting to me. This coming from a former career BMW mechanic. The in-jokes are all quite clever, but we're talking more smirk clever than laugh out loud. (Though David Hobbs popping up as a race announcer is a really nice touch.)What Pixar has tried to do with this sequel is tap into the "Incredibles" style James Bond atmosphere and blend it with a "vehicle" for Mater. The problems are multi-fold. Michael Caine can only do so much and just isn't enough because there isn't enough jokes to keep Mater rolling. The Japanese toilet jokes are, however, hilarious and quite accurate if you have ever been there. When you look at the plot, there is enough to go around for at least three movies and none of the ideas are completely developed.That said, Cars 2 is not a failure or a bomb - it made $550 million dollars at the box office - but it is just a bit more episodic than the more thoughtful stories in other Pixar movies. In the end, I think it is a more ambitious movie than the first Cars, but not any more entertaining. It is a tall task to compete with aliens, robots, monsters, insects, toys or superheroes. Cars 2 is entertaining, but when you start with a flat note, it's tough to really make it sing.

(2012-05-24 15:55)

My 8-year-old son loved it

A lot of people need to realize who this movie is targeted at: kids. If you are an adult and reviewing this movie, time to re-think your life choices. ;) My son absolutely loved this movie. The whole "spy" and international intrigue stuff was right up his alley. As for all the conservative idiots who hate this movie ONLY because it goes after "big oil", that is truly sad and a pathetic statement about THEM, not this movie. I did notice that when the first Cars came out, my then-younger son seemed to "fit" that movie. Now that he is older, the more-intense, more-complex story line of the second movie matured with him, if that makes sense.

(2012-05-24 07:41)

Cars 2

This review is from: Cars 2 (Two-Disc Blu-ray / DVD Combo in Blu-ray Packaging) (Blu-ray) My son loves this movie. However, I wish we would have gotten it sooner with pre - ordering. Next time I will just buy it at the store.

(2012-05-23 13:35)

Pixar's First Miss.

If you are an adult and like James Bond movies with a touch of Transformers action, you'll like Cars 2. For everybody else, this movie was just wrong. As has been said by other reviewers, this movie drops everything good about the original one: the characters, the setting, the mood, the pace, the soul. My five- and three-year old daughters -- great fans of the first installment -- got up and walked away 20 minutes into the movie. Looks good, but no soul.

ththaymes378 (2012-05-23 01:02)

Better than you'd think it would be.

The critics may have jumped the gun on this one. Cars 2 is just as funas most other animated movies. Not as good as the rest of Pixar'soutput, but at least on the level of other animated films like Rio. Ifound it to be highly entertaining and exciting. Mater actually makesfor a good protagonist and Larry the Cable Guy is well used in thismovie. This film isn't exactly well- written, but it has a strongenough emotional arc and appealing visuals to make up for it. My onlyserious complaint was that "Git-R-Done" wasn't uttered once in thisfilm. It may not be as good as Toy Story 3, but Cars 2 is certainly nota bad movie.

(2012-05-22 09:34)

Faulty blu ray discs

This review is from: Cars 2 (Five-Disc Combo: Blu-ray 3D / Blu-ray / DVD / Digital Copy) (Blu-ray) I ordered this twice. Both times the blu ray discs wouldn't play on our blu ray player. We even tested other blu ray movies we owned. Our player works. Disappointing.

(2012-05-21 23:27)

Really???????

First off let me say that I didn't think that Cars needed a sequel. It was by far not my favorite Pixar film but it had its charms and everything wrapped up well in the end and Mcqueen learned a lesson about friendship...or did he? Well apparently he didn't but that fact doesn't even take center stage in this film. Instead we get a James Bond spoof with Mater taking center stage with two spy cars and all of the charming characters from Radiator Springs get put in almost as an afterthought.Of course the visuals are stunning but it wasn't enough to keep my boys interested and my oldest even asked to watch something else about three times starting only 10 minutes into the movie. One of my younger ones disappeared and returned with the original movie asking to watch it instead.Not a terrible film but Pixar can certainly do better.

aardvarksrule1 (2012-05-21 05:07)

Disappointing, truly disappointing

I have been an avid fan of Pixar since I was 7 when I saw FindingNemo(my absolute favorite movie ever) and I have loved them all. Butthen Cars 2 came out. It had an interesting and exciting opening, with cool moments andawesome gadgets, but after that the movie went downhill quickly.Imagine the plot of every spy movie ever made, every bad pun andshameless advertisement gag, roll it all up into an impressivelyanimated movie and suck out all the heart that is typically found in aPixar movie, but a bright red "cliche" stamp on it, and you have Cars2. It was by far the WORST Pixar movie, and it disgraced the first Carsmovie, which had an incredible story along with impressive animation.Mater completely ruined the movie. He was annoying, utterly clueless,and oblivious to insult. Finn McMissle was the best character of themovie, despite his utter incompetence to figure out that Mater is not aspy. And Lightning McQueen was a minor character at best, and at theend he spat out the most stereotypical, unoriginal lines in Pixarhistory. This movie was filled with "Ugh", "Of course", and "You've GOTto be kidding me" moments. And on top of that, it was quite a violentmovie, definitely not worthy of a G-rating. There were so many thingswrong with it. John Lasseter, you have lost your touch.

flingebunt (2012-05-20 12:56)

Further into the world of cars

The movie Cars created a story where Cars live a life just like ours.Unfortunately it was a complete story with little opportunity for aninteresting sequel.Cars 2 steps out into a bigger world beyond just the race track. Nowthe characters from the first story are involved in an internationalspy conspiracy as they compete in a unique international series ofraces.This is a great sequel that takes you into a wider universe of spies,conspiracies and international intrigue. This is less of Days ofThunder and more James Bond. While many people have disliked this movie, though I think unfairly.Just the idea that cars don't just race, they instead deal with bothrealistic issues (resource utlisation), fantastic ones (spies and spycars) and of course personal issues (like friendship and stardom).Just go in with an open mind.

(2012-05-19 23:07)

A Great Purchase.

This review is from: Cars 2 (DVD) My 4 year old son wanted this DVD so bad that he threw a tantrum when we saw it at Walmart and we could not get it because it was way overpriced. So I got a copy off of this seller here on Amazon. Delivery was prompt and affordable. I will recommend this to anyone who wants to make his son one happy little thing.

thomsedavi (2012-05-19 10:15)

Flawed but still enjoyable

The best of Pixar's films have protagonists who are a small part of avery large world and are almost helpless against incredible odds - ToyStory, Wall-E, Finding Nemo etc. The protagonists of Cars are very bigin a very small world, so do not play to the strengths of Pixar.However, being Pixar, they still make these films better than anyoneelse would have with the same material. Cars and Cars 2 areintelligently written and filled with more detail than you couldcomfortably fit into a single screening.This movie is not so much a sequel to the first as an affectionateJames Bond parody that happens to be set in the Cars universe. Whereasthe original Cars was thematically slow and patient, this onedeliberately takes things in the exact opposite direction. Whetheranyone will prefer the first film or the second is entirely theirpreference, and it is wrong to say that one is better than the other.Each film has its own appeals and drawbacks.The main weakness of this film is a failure to create any kind ofsympathy for the characters. They are not alone, they are not lost,they have friends and allies and the resources to get out of anysituation. It never feels like there is any real danger, as there iswith the Toy Story films. Whereas the first film had enough focus oncharacter development to compensate for this, the subplot about thetested friendship between McQueen and Mater seems especiallyinsubstantial here.Nevertheless, I feel like this is an enjoyable installment in thefranchise, never letting your attention wander and always ready with aclever idea. They have demonstrated that they are willing to go inentirely new directions with this world - maybe if they make a thirdfilm, they can make something truly worthy of the Pixar name?If I were rating this in comparison to other Pixar films, my scorewould be lower... but scoring this as a film on its own, I think it isdeserving of between five and seven stars.

kevintempel (2012-05-18 21:41)

violence is that all you got

I loved Cars. And was looking forward to Cars 2. but then I saw thetrailer, and I saw the film with my son who is 5 years old. And I sayto the makers of this piece of crap:If the only thing you can make is violence and bombs and think that isthe moral and corruption of young children's minds we want you betterhang up your hat and move to another industry.Why is all the cartoons now a days about blowing the most up, shootingand killing. I mean do you not have any better imagination than that?Cars 2 could have followed the story of Cars. A story of hope anddreams. But no..you wanted bombs and grenades.So this movie cars 2 are banned at our home, my other kids will not seeit, and it is not recommended for any kids younger than 13.Can Disney make the beautiful children films they are known for? I meanfilms of love, hope, happiness, magic etc. That is what our kids want.I am really thinking of stopping all my kid channels on TV Disney,Disney XD, Cartoon network, Nick...etc. Why you ask? well because allthe programs are about bombs, violence, fighting, shooting,killing...there are no longer a good moral to the stories, it is aboutblowing up as much as possible in the least amount of time. So whyshould I degrade my kids minds with this violence?parents should ask themselves: what future do we want for our kids?when all science point to the fact that all this violence in films isthe reason for much of the violence happening for real in the world andright outside our neighborhood. parents should ask themselves: whatmoral things should we learn to our children, how do we want them tobecome when they grow up?from a father and nurse to all parents.

(2012-05-18 08:48)

From one kid's perspective

My kid loves this sequel, and that's enough for me. I was never a NASCAR fan or even a fan of cars (I actually dislike motor vehicles!!!), but I grew to love the original Cars as a kids' movie, and after seeing Cars 2 three times in the theater, I can say I liked this sequel much more than the original. Honestly. Pixar promised something bigger and more intense, and they kept that promise.Now, I could pick apart the movie with a critic's eye, but what would be the point? Watching a kids' movie as a family is an experience, and if my kid loves this movie and can see the good in the characters and in the story at such a young age, then there is no point in my faulting Pixar or my listening to the dozens of critics who hated this sequel and who weren't really judging this movie from a car-loving kid's point of view anyway.

Xenia Onatopp (2012-05-17 13:44)

Do it in 3D or don't do it at all!

Going to see this movie in anything else than 3D is a fail waiting tohappen. The worst part of the movie is the fact that its just slightlyless exciting than its predecessor. The best thing about the movie, isthat its a kids movie you could talk to your kids about afterward, ie"Wasn't that 3D cool?!" This one focuses just as much energy and timeon to the superstar dump truck as it tries introducing new edgycharacters. If your looking for the old crew/cast in this one, this isnot the one. Too much was going on! too many location changes + withtoo many stories all lumped into one = attention deficit disorder brainconditioning. But multiply that with 3D, and you have a bearable movie!

(2012-05-17 06:53)

Not the HD version

This review is from: Cars 2 (Amazon Instant Video) They charge you 14.99 for the movie to download on your TV but when you go to watch it, you'll find out it is not the HD version and they never give you a choice between the two.If you want the HD version you have to rent it for 4.99.Kinda stupid they bilk their customers like this.

jasonisu4 (2012-05-17 05:51)

What happened??

I am a huge fan of Cars. One of my all-time favorite films. Greatstoryline and overall just a fun movie to watch. There is an old clichéabout sequels not being as good as the original and this movie lives upto that cliché.I had heard about the story involving espionage and spies and all thatbut I had no idea that all of this overshadows much of what the firstmovie was about. Racing. There are so few racing scenes in the movieand the ones that are there are unfortunately overshadowed by thugs andgangs who have a master plan to sabotage the World Grand Prix. In factI thought that there were some scenes that were a bit much in manycases involving character death. Death in G-Rated movie!? Come onDisney! This isn't 007, its Cars! I think they got far too carried awaywith the whole Spy Storyline and tried to turn it into a Jason Bourneor James Bond when it should have been Cars.In addition to the spy story being a bit much, there are just a fewscenes that I was a bit uncomfortable with. For example at thebeginning of the movie Lightning yells at Mater and basically tells himto get lost. I'm sorry but that was just terrible. In fact the wholemovie revolves around Mater basically being an idiot. Again I was a bitdisappointed with all of that.This sequel also seems to shun some of the Radiator Springs characters.Sally, Sarge, Fillmore, Flo, Ramone, etc. might as well have not beenin the movie at all. They had such few lines, I thought some scenes hadbeen cut out of the film for time purposes. And just like the firstCars movie there are some professional racing drivers in this movie.Jeff Gordon, Lewis Hamilton, Darrell Waltrip and David Hobbs are greatbut again not nearly enough lines for any of them. This, I guess, goesback to the lack of racing in this film.This film does provide laughs and entertainment like the original butI'm sorry as a Race Fan and as a fan of the original Cars I was deeplydisappointed.

Hunterjumper20 (2012-05-16 20:44)

Not pixar's best

When I heard another cars was coming out, I couldn't wait to go see itbecause I loved the first movie and could watch it over and over again.But after the movie I was disappointed with the it(cars 2). It seemedvery long for a pixar movie and half way through my cousin whose 5,started getting bored and started playing with a little toy car. To meit seemed a little confusing for little kid, unlike the first one wherethe concept was easy to grasp. It is not the worst movie by pixar, butit isn't as good as the other movies they've made. They also made themovie more about mater ( lightnings best friend) instead of lightningMcQueen. It got quiet annoying after mater kept doing stupid things. Itis an OK movie, but be prepared to be sitting for a while.

(2012-05-16 17:19)

It's wonderful entertainment for all ages

Car's 2 and another triumph for Pixar. I am at a total lost about the people that whine and bellyache about the least little thing. IT's A MOVIE people! It's not the real world. It's entertainment and it does a wonderful job of entertaining. I am so fed up with people who have to complain about such a masterpiece just to make themselves feel important. I think they have all been brain washed by Michael Bay. I love most of his films but agree with what the guys said in Fanboys. All style and no substance. The edits don't have to be 3 per second to keep my attention. People are getting lazy about watching movies and if it don't constantly bash them in the brain with mindless sensory overload, they just about fall asleep. That's truly sad. Cars'2 delivers on the humor, the action, visuals of other countries that are breathtaking and a story that is easy to follow and has a positive message. To the person who complained about the cars threatening to kill other cars and how it was going to destroy their kids brains, trust me. Your kids have heard way worse than that on TV and even more so at school. Grow up and stop waiting for the world to sanitize everything for you. Mator has a much larger role in this film and I am so glad. McQueen is pretty much my least favorite character but I can take him or leave him. He don't destroy the show by any means. Pixar knew they had a wonderful character in Mator so they gave us more of him this time and I am SO glad they did. The scene in the Japanese restroom is fall out of your chair funny. The wasabi incident equally funny. Many little in jokes including a rare quote from the 60's Adam West Batman film where he says, "If I could just reverse the polarity". I bet very few people got that one. Pixar has huge amounts of time for the creators to come up with funny stuff and it surely shows. No film is perfect and everyone is entitled to their opinion but give Pixar a break and appreciate the endless hours that went into creating this wonderful movie that is suitable for the entire family. 5 minutes in, I knew it had to be part of my collection and I fully recommend it to all ages.

(2012-05-16 06:28)

A pleasure to the eyes!

The 3D version of Cars 2 is a delight to watch! The colors, the 3D effects and the sharpness of the animation all come to life in this magnificent version. Although the plot of the movie focuses more on the the tow truck and has a heavy 'clean-energy' bias, I believe that the quality of the visuals far outweighs the relative weakness of the plot. Five bright stars for the 3D animation quality, but 3 stars for the plot.