Hey folks, Joel here with a new Blu-ray review,
Cars 2 Blu-ray
Directors: John Lasseter, Brad Lewis
Cast: Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, Michael Caine
Running time: 106 Minutes
Age restriction: PG
Genre: Animation
Film Review
Cars is widely regarded as the drunkard uncle of Pixar’s franchises. The concept seemed golden – everyone (but mostly boys) like cars. But as with many rock solid ideas, something gets lost in translation. I don’t consider the original Cars to be a particularly bad film, it has a nice variety of characters, plays on a heap of nostalgia and pop culture, and has a touching message. Cars 2 however, took the gimmick of the original and subtracted all its good qualities and just put in more Mater…a lot more Mater.
The first Cars introduced us to Lightning Mcqueen and the residents of Radiator Springs, this time around, Lightning and his pit crew (which includes many of the former character but only in minor roles) take on the world circuit when a tycoon hosts a challenge to promote his Allinol green fuel alternative. Behind the scenes though is a sinister organisation intent on disrupting the contest, an organisation that is being investigated by Finn McMissile and his spy network. A case of mistaken identity thrusts Mater into the world of the secret agent and with the help of Finn and the lovely Holley Shiftwell, they take on the criminals and their nefarious plot.
Pixar downplays the racing aspect of Cars 2 and substutes it with a confusing and frankly, boring espionage story arc that places Lightning McQueen in second place and centres on Mater for the majority of the 106 minute running time. Larry the Cable Guy is bearable in smaller doses but the popularity of Mater in the first film has led Pixar to believe that this dimwitted character is deserving of a bigger role – that’s a big mistake. One can only take so much Mater before a lethal overdose ensues.
But Mater takeing top biling is but one of the numerous flaws in this film. Cars 2 in general loses any and all qualities that the original built on. Pixar opted for an action heavy storyline with the expected high-end CGI but abandons any solid character development – an area that they are particularly skilled in. This cocktail of misfires unfortunately resulted in Pixar’s first ever critical flop and they deserve it. The Toy Story sequels relied on repetition and they were on par (if not better) than the original great escape plot. Hopefully Disney and Pixar they can use this as a lesson for any future sequels that they plan to produce.
Audio/Video
Cars 2 is expectedly populated by glistening metallic racing machines of all manifestations. Everything down from the rust covered heeps to last hubcap are rendered to the highest contrast. At times the colour levels are almost a little too saturated and I found my eyes tiring before the end. Another flaw I found was that the footage jittered during the fast moving scenes. Still, the video quality is top notch with a great colour range and crispness.
The audio mix is also a cut above, producing wide range of audio bliss. Expect lots of roaring engines through the base and great directional race track sounds through the 7.1 mix. The voice track is well balanced and isn’t overwhelmed by the soundtrack or the effects (and there is plenty of that). The soundtrack of cars is probably one of Giachino’s less successful attempts. He tried to compose a secret agent type theme as the focal point of the score but it becomes annoying after frequent revisits throughout the film.
Bonus Features
Cars 2 is sorely lacking in extra content. All you’ll find is the Toy Story short “Hawaiian Vacation” (which was tacked onto the Cars 2 theatrical release) and one “Mater’s Tall Tails” short which is a generous edition concidering how much Mater you’ve already sat though. You won’t find any making of featurettes, galleries, or even a basic production sheet. Lastly are the complimentary sneak peaks which are basically just adverts for other releases – one of which is a compilation of the aforementioned Mater shorts that screened on television during the Cars 2 cinema run.
Special features include:
- Directors Commentary
- Hawaiian Vacation
- Air Mater
- Sneak peaks
The Bottom Line
One can only speculate why Disney/Pixar opted to make a sequel to one of their under performers rather than a beloved franchise. While Cars 2 is all muscle on the outside, it’s a skedonk under the hood. It still has the Pixar charm but that doesn’t carry the film. What made Cars 2 work was that the Cars did what they were made to do – race. The sequel let the racing element take a backseat over an espionage thriller tale which wasn’t compelling in the least and gets old fast.
Overall (not an average)
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Want to prove me wrong? Get the Cars 2 Blu-ray/3D Blu-ray combo HERE!
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