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Home > Categories > Movies > Children > Cars 2 review

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Score: 8.1/10  [7 reviews]
3 out of 5
ProdID: 2912 - Cars 2
Directed by John Lasseter

Cars 2
Price:
 
Sample/s Supplied by:
Click to search for all products supplied by Walt Disney Studios (NZ)

Disclosure StatementFULL DISCLOSURE: A number of units of this product have, at some time, been provided to KIWIreviews by Walt Disney Studios (NZ) or their agents for the sole purposes of unbiased, independent reviews. No fee was requested, offered nor accepted by KIWIreviews or the reviewers themselves - these are genuine, unpaid consumer reviews.
Available:
June 2011

Cars 2 product reviews

Star racecar Lightning McQueen (voice of Owen Wilson) and the incomparable tow truck Mater (voice of Larry the Cable Guy) take their friendship to exciting new places in 'Cars 2' when they head overseas to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix to determine the world's fastest car. But the road to the championship is filled with plenty of potholes, detours and hilarious surprises when Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage.

Mater finds himself torn between assisting Lightning McQueen in the high-profile race and towing the line in a top-secret mission orchestrated by master British super spy Finn McMissile (voice of Michael Caine) and the stunning rookie field spy Holley Shiftwell (voice of Emily Mortimer). Mater's action-packed journey leads him on an explosive chase through the streets of Japan and Europe, trailed by his friends and watched by the whole world. The fast-paced fun includes a colorful new all-car cast, complete with menacing villains and international racing competitors.

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Product reviews...

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Click here to read the profile of kiwiblondie

Review by: kiwiblondie (Michelle)
Dated: 28th of April, 2014

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This Review: 8.5/10
Pay to see it again:
Score 9 out of 10
Attention Span:
Score 9 out of 10
Believeability:
Score 6 out of 10
Age Appropriateness:
Score 10 out of 10

If you have young kids then this movie is a must, they love the talking cars and all the trouble Mater gets into just by going to the bathroom. I think the more action appealed to my hubby but I was more interested in seeing who was causing the cars to explode and why (not much good in knowing who did it but not why).

The graphics and animation was great, if cars could talk then I would want a McQueen as he has a sense of humour and he has learnt a lot in the first movie. I'm sure my son would love to be Mater as he drives in the dirt and likes scaring tractors. The actors must have really enjoyed the movie.

Personally I liked both the first movie and then this one, not sure a third would be a good idea. I'm glad that although some of the issues surrounding biofuel and old dirty gas could have been addressed but it wasn't.. only thing mentioned was that the cars had to use the special biofuel for the races, none of the save the planet and things would be better if we all lived sustainably etc. This is after all a kids movie but sometimes the producers forget that and try and have underlying messages which tends to spoil the movie.

Would recommend to any parents of boys.

Click here to read the profile of jay7889

Review by: jay7889 (Jaimee)
Dated: 2nd of November, 2013

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This Review: 7.5/10
Pay to see it again:
Score 7 out of 10
Attention Span:
Score 6 out of 10
Believeability:
Score 8 out of 10
Age Appropriateness:
Score 9 out of 10

Cars 2 is a sequel to the Disney movie Cars. I have seen Cars 2 a lot of times. My Nephew absolutely loves cars, and everything transport related, cars, trucks, trains, planes; Whenever he has a chance he jumps at the possibility at watching Cars and Cars 2.

I enjoyed Cars 2. It is an awesome movie as a family movie however I think that the original was far better. I found that although it was funny, there was something missing, substance almost to the plots. This may be due to a swap in the main character.

This movie was funny just not in a laugh out loud type of funny. Kids of all ages enjoy watching it. I know my nephew watches it over and over every time I rent it. I would recommend this movie for children and those who are young at heart. I would also warn that whoever watches would watch it not as a sequel as such but more a bonus feature.

Click here to read the profile of emahlyn

Review by: emahlyn (Emma)
Dated: 19th of September, 2013

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This Review: 8.3/10
Pay to see it again:
Score 10 out of 10
Attention Span:
Score 10 out of 10
Believeability:
Score 3 out of 10
Age Appropriateness:
Score 10 out of 10

As much as I loved this movie I felt it really didn't compare to the first one. I would have rather had the same set of familiar characters in Radiator Springs. But once I had adjusted to the new scene and new "Spy" cars, I did find it way a very cool funny movie.

My almost 3 year old has watched this over 100 times, so as his Mother I have seen it a fair bit myself. Loads of funny wee bits for the kids with a few adult jokes thrown in. The storyline is a bit over the younger children's heads in my opinion. Storylines about using organic fuel because of global warming and low oil supplies. Although my son doesn't seem confused, he just enjoys the cute funny cars, the racing and the awesome brightness and music that go with it.

I really enjoyed this movie and would recommend it for younger children and there wasn't really any scary parts. I know when my son watches similar movies such as Toy Story there are a few frightening parts but "Cars" really has found an awesome balance for the younger kids and older kids. Secretly I don't really mind it myself either.

Click here to read the profile of holden05

Review by: holden05 (Tracy)
Dated: 9th of April, 2012

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This Review: 10/10
Pay to see it again:
Score 10 out of 10
Attention Span:
Score 10 out of 10
Believeability:
Score 10 out of 10
Age Appropriateness:
Score 10 out of 10

I watched Cars and really enjoyed it, as did the rest of my family, so we were all very keen to watch this when it came out on DVD. It didn't start the way I expected, and it carried on keeping us engaged, instead of falling into the second movie predictability that can happen with sequels.

The characters remained true to the first film, but even more rounded and believable. There were more Cars characters introduced, a few faces were missing but the plot and story line was rich and fun.

The movie itself kept the whole family entertained Mum, Dad and all three children, including a teenager, so that in it self speaks volumes.

Being supercar fans we were keen to see Frosty's camo, but it was so brief we missed his character the first time, and we had to google his character and then go back and watch to see where he was!

I would rate this film as one every family should own, we have watched it multiple times, and it still has laugh out loud moments!

Click here to read the profile of mizim

Review by: mizim (Miriam)
Dated: 8th of April, 2012

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This Review: 10/10
Pay to see it again:
Score 10 out of 10
Attention Span:
Score 10 out of 10
Believeability:
Score 10 out of 10
Age Appropriateness:
Score 10 out of 10

We watched this simply because we had watched the first one and the trailers looked good.

If I compare it to the first I must say that I enjoyed it a lot more. However it didn't seem to focus on a 'lesson' as much as the first one did.

However, my son asked to watch this over and over, but the first one he only wanted to watch a couple of times.
This was a great movie, but I feel that if they were to make a 3rd one it would just be a let down

Click here to read the profile of tinribs27

Review by: tinribs27 (Mark)
Dated: 29th of August, 2011

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This Review: 3.0/10
Pay to see it again:
Score 2 out of 10
Attention Span:
Score 3 out of 10
Believeability:
Score 3 out of 10
Age Appropriateness:
Score 4 out of 10

16 years ago, Pixar Animation Studios released the first feature length computer animated film in history, Toy Story. What followed was an incredible run of success, an 11 film hot streak that yielded dozens of awards (including 11 Oscars), billions of dollars in box office receipts, and the admiration of audiences and critics everywhere. Year after year Pixar was a company you could rely on, and while not all the films were perfect, they all were at least of decent quality, and light years ahead of their competition from the likes of Dreamworks and Sony. So therefore it's heart-breaking to say that Pixar's hot streak has come to a crashing halt in 2011. Cars 2 is not just the weakest film in Pixar's catalogue, it is the worst high-profile animated release for some time.

If there is one Pixar film that divides opinion much more than any other, it is 2006's Cars. While by no means a bad film, it just didn't hit in the same way as films like Toy Story, Finding Nemo, or The Incredibles. It did middling numbers at the box office (by Pixar standards) and currently sits with a 74% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the only film from the studio below 90%. For director John Lasseter (also head of Pixar), Cars is obviously a very personal film, a nostalgic story about the loss of small-town American values in the face of increased modernity. If it's not a complete success, credit must be given to Lasseter for at least trying to say something meaningful, and in typical Pixar fashion the film stands out in the increasingly crowded computer animation film market for at least attempting thematic depth, and it's ability to reach audiences both young and old. Cars 2 on the other hand is completely devoid of depth and subtlety, and will more than likely annoy adults while at times being arguably inappropriate for children. Returning director Lasseter takes the worst character from the first film (in my opinion the biggest reason for Cars' failure), and structures the whole story around his infuriating exploits. Imagine George Lucas, upon seeing the negative feedback following The Phantom Menace, making all of Episode 2 about Jar-Jar Binks. That's the kind of thing we're left with in Cars 2. Compounding the story problems is the troubling amount of guns and violence in the film. To make the argument that "it's OK because they're just cars" is inexcusable. This is still supposed to be a children's film, and while the espionage sub-plot does have potential, there are elements that seem shockingly unsuitable for young kids.

This brings up a question: why would Pixar choose to revisit the only film they have produced which could conceivably be called a failure? Lasseter is on record as saying that the company would only explore sequels to their films if a good story could be developed, and the level of quality of the two Toy Story sequels seems to back up this sentiment, but it's hard to believe that anyone would think the script of Cars 2 is worthy of that high standard. Interestingly, there is one other way that Cars stands apart from other Pixar films: the estimated $8 billion merchandising revenues. While all Pixar films have profited from merchandising, none have had the global appeal of Cars. It's upsetting to think that Pixar, a company who seemed previously to place greater importance on the quality of its films than the bottom line, have gone for the easy cash grab, but there really seems to be no other reason for the existence of Cars 2. Everything about the films seems designed to increase the potential for selling merchandise, whether it's the films global locations which pander to international audiences, or the increasingly ridiculous characters and set-pieces, tailor made to be toys and video games. It's a cynical opinion, one which I had hoped I'd never feel towards a Pixar film, but it is undeniably true: Cars 2 is a film created not as an artistic endeavour, but to feed ancillary markets.

Pixar's golden run had to end sometime, and one bad film is a small price to pay for 11 good, with two or three being genuine masterpieces. What is most unfortunate is the catastrophic level of Cars 2's failure, and Pixar will undoubtedly lose a lot of respect for making such a soulless film, unworthy of the studio's name.

Click here to read the profile of tucker

Review by: tucker (Karl)
Dated: 30th of June, 2011

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This Review: 9.8/10
Pay to see it again:
Score 10 out of 10
Attention Span:
Score 10 out of 10
Believeability:
Score 9 out of 10
Age Appropriateness:
Score 10 out of 10

Short version: Better than the first one - if you like action and non-stop storyline. But the first one wins out as a lovely way of showing the kids how they can be better people if they focus on others more than themselves.

That said, there is still more than enough going for this movie to make it a blazing hit with kids and adults alike. We see most of the old crew - though not as much as I would have liked - but we are also introduced to a whole pile of new characters - the movie is a Cars version of James Bond basically, with Michael Caine voicing our erstwhile master spy - Finn McMissile - and Emily Mortimer (who was the voice of the lead female character Sophie in Howl's Moving Castle) voicing the analyst-turned-field-agent Holly Shiftwell. But my favourite actor ever - simply for the huge diversity of roles he has played - has to be Eddy Izzard, who voices the Alternative Fuel Magnate, Sir Miles Axlerod.

As with all good spy movies, there's a twist that is somewhat predictable, but arrived at by the most round-about means thanks to the hard work and sheer gutsiness of the master spy... but in this case, we have a twist on the twist and though the final outcome is still a little predictable, how it gets revealed is anything but!

Overall, a wonderful movie, best enjoyed during school hours to avoid large groups of noisy kids ruining it for you. If you want to take the kids, well... how you manage that is up to you really. Personally, I see this as one of the big benefits of Homeschooling... you don't have to risk your kids missing anything important - because you just move your 'weekend' around and they do school work on a Saturday - and can take them to some great movies without a bunch of other kids yelling, laughing and making annoyances of themselves. This movie is a great kids movie, but like all great ones, there's a layer of humour in there for the adults too. Wink Icon My only wish was that I could have seen it in 3d to see if that improved it at all.

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