Much like Ali and Jordan, sometimes the greatest cannot
resist hubris as they continue to desperately cling to vestiges of once
greatness and grandeur. Such is the case with Pixar and their unneeded addition
to the already crowded summer of sequels, Cars
2.
Cars 2 is the
sequel that no one asked for. The
film isn't necessarily atrocious, but why create a sequel to a film whose story
was over and done with back in 2006? The film balances between being a send up
of 60s espionage adventures and a true-to-form road trip. The hero of the last
film, Lightning McQueen is relegated to playing second fiddle to Larry the
Cable Guy's Mater, a tow truck whose sheer idiocy proves the source for many of
the films laughs and tender moments.
The plot revolves around McQueen traveling around the world
as part of a tournament of racers running their engines on the newest source of
alternative fuel dubbed "Allinol". The new fuel is determined to have a
weakness that is then exploited by a group of cars that work as a crime
syndicate, really tough stuff for a children's film.
That's the biggest issue I have
with the film. Instead of
delivering a top-notch animated feature that everyone can enjoy, Pixar opts to
pander to the youth, leaving the adults to suffer through the wreckage. Yes the
film delivers the colors and sounds of racing much better than the Wachowski
brothers attempted to do in their asinine 2008 Speed Racer, but that isn't the point. The main focus of a film
should always be about the narrative, something that Pixar has lived by for the
last thirteen years. Now, after
churning out over a dozen enchanting films, they blow a flat during the final
lap of the Grand Prix. Without all
the bells and whistles I would be surprised if Cars 2 could even get out of the starting gate.
