Media manipulation, torture, propaganda, organized crime, espionage and assassinations. No, these are not key elements to James Bond 23. Welcome back to the world of Disney/Pixar's Cars.
Cars 2 trades the originals charm and heart for bullets and bombs. We are introduced to Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) an Aston Martin DB5 working for Her Majesty's Secret Service infiltrating a oil rig in an opening scene that would make Ian Fleming proud. Cue an anti-oil, alternative fuel tycoon who sponsors a "World Cup" to promote his environmentally friendly "Allinol". Without giving much of the story away, our lovable Mater always eager to make new friends ends up over his head, entangled in the dangerous world of espionage.
What follows has to be a record for violence in a G rated film. Five minutes does not pass with out bullets flying, bombs exploding, someone being tortured or plotted against. There is a slight lesson about accepting someone as they are if you pay real close attention, which is hard to do especially for the target audience.
Don't get me wrong, I liked most of the movie, even though my wife and I were cringing at all the "kill him"s and the joy of seeing others in pain or being killed that is showed by the bad guys over and over. And lets not get into the Politically Correct Environmental Message being laid out for our innocent children to absorb. I digress.
We have many new Characters in the Cars universe that are quite entertaining, most notably "Francesco Bernoulli" a Formula 1 racecar whose confidence exceeds even that of Lightning McQueen's, leading to some entertaining banter between the two. The sharp eyed will also get a kick out of the minor/ background cars including a McLaren MP-412, Corvette Z06, numerous classic Italian and British cars and a Pope-Mobile riding in a Pope-Mobile.
All in all this film feels like it was made for the 6-8 year old children who enjoyed the first "Cars" back in 2006 and are now 11-13, not for the sweet, innocent 4-8 year olds. The children might like it for the action and excitement, but parents like myself will feel bad to exposing their kids to what they don't and shouldn't comprehend yet. I think my family will re-watch the original "Cars" this week to bring back that warm and fuzzy feeling that was lost with "Cars 2".
2 out of 5 for Children
3.5 out of 5 for 13 and up.
