My youngest son (not quite a teenager), seemed embarrassed to be going to the cinema with me at 5.30 in the afternoon. I knew this because he was complaining about what I was wearing. The thing is, at that time of day, the likelihood of bumping into someone he knew from school was high. But I am not really sure if he was more concerned about being seen with me, or being seen watching Cars 2. In his opinion, Cars (the original) was a movie aimed at six-year-olds, so Cars 2 was definitely not the coolest film for a12-year-old to be seen at with his mum!
In the post movie analysis, he admitted that it was better than he expected and definitely better than the original because at least it had a real plot this time! I never saw the original, but clearly not having seen it does not detract much from any enjoyment you may or may not get from seeing this film. It is a sequel but with a complete storyline of its own that requires no prior knowledge of any of the characters or the plot (such as it is) of the first movie.
I am not a big Pixar fan myself but many of the critics, who generally seem to love their movies, think that Cars was the least impressive. My real problem with Cars 2 is that I am not really sure who it is aimed at. The car designs look cool (I love the way they move their eyes), and the animation is impressive. However, do not be fooled into thinking this is just a simple tale of car racing and friendship; it has a whole James Bond thriller thing going on, complete with British spies, secret weapons and a case of mistaken identity, as well as a sub-plot about petrol versus the eco-friendly alternative Allinol. Was that for the adults? Most of it would go over the heads of any six-year-olds watching, but the racing, the action scenes and the car on car violence might impress.
From an adult point of view, the film has two things I hate, an environmental message and the only thing worse than Formula 1 racing: animated Formula 1 racing. Even my son, who is not averse to spending a few hours on the Playstation mindlessly racing round and round a track, said the worst bit of the film is the racing scenes. It’s one thing to participate with a controller but quite another to watch it. And I am not sure why they gave us 3D glasses when we went into the cinema. There are very few occasions during the film when they seem to be needed. I only realised it must be in 3D when I took my glasses off and everything went blurry.
On the upside the voices are great and there are a few good jokes, if you don’t miss them. Owen Wilson sounds suitably smooth and self-satisfied as Lightning McQueen, the red boy-racer now based in Radiator Springs, who really just wants to take a break from winning races to hang out with his girlfriend, Sally. In the final frantic scene in London, McQueen meets the Queen, and his mate, Mater, ends up stuck inside Big Bentley (my son found that funny!). Mater is the rusty, goofy, red-neck pick-up truck with a rather irritating drawl that can be amusing but grates after a while. Michael Caine is unmistakably Michael Caine-like as Finn McMissile, British super spy and Emily Mortimer his beautiful sidekick, Holley Shiftwell. Eddie Izzard is Sir Miles Axlerod, big shot businessman promoting Allinol.
Mater turns out not to be as idiotic as he looks when he finally saves the day, rescues his mate McQueen from near certain death and exposes those trying to undermine alternative fuel. Everyone goes back to Radiator Springs happy and we all learn to love our friends for who they are. How did that happen? Well, maybe something to do with ‘a wise car hears one word and understands two!’ My son grudgingly agreed that he quite enjoyed the film, which is something coming from a 12-year-old whose viewing tastes are usually slightly more sophisticated. South Park is more what the average 12-year-old seems to be into these days. It probably helped that we didn’t bump into any of his mates at the cinema!
DIRECTED BY John Lasseter, Brad Lewis
STARRING Owen Wilson, Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Eddie Izzard
