Skip to main content

Dome Pondering Movie Review: Cars 2 (2011)

What is it about? 

Mater is finally invited overseas with his best friend Lightning McQueen for the World Grand Prix only to get wrapped up into espionage, and an elaborate energy scheme. 

Who is in it? 

Mater - Larry The Cable Guy

Owen Wilson - Lightning McQueen

Michael Caine - Finn McMissile

Favorite Scene: 

The opening scene where Finn McMissile boards a boat that hovers over the major oil refinery, and eventually leads into a major chase scene with gagdets and escapes that mirror a cars-version of a James Bond film. 

Favorite Quotes: 

Finn McMissile: My apologies, I haven't properly introduced myself. Finn McMissile, British intelligence.
Mater: Tow Mater, average intelligence. 
---
Mater: I'll have some of that there pistachio ice cream.
Sushi Chef: No, no. Wasabi.
Mater: Oh, same old, Same old, what's up with you? 
---
Sally: [Sees Fransisco on television] He's so good looking, what, with those big, open wheels...
Lightning McQueen : Wait, what do you got against fenders?
Sally : Nothing! Nothing.
Lightning McQueen : What's wrong with my fenders? 

Review:

Cars 2 is a cute movie. It's fun, enjoyable, funny, and overall, harmless. Most of the main characters return for the sequel of the land of cars, but with a shift in focus as Mater becomes the focus of the film, and not Lightning McQueen. 

However, as the norm with sequels, most want to know if it is as good as the original. The answer here is unfortunately,  no. While Cars 2 does not live up to the magic that was presented in the original, the plot was an interesting one that will leave the viewer guessing up until the very end of the movie. Something that separates it from the lovable, yet, cookie-cutter, PG, plot of the original. 

All in all, Cars 2 is still a very good film that is an easy watch. Some of the espionage scenes and the scenes of Cars doing human things will provide the moments that will make the film. 

A very good watch. Not as good as the orginal, but surely a solid sequel. 

Review: 3/5

Recently Read

Quick Ponder: Future Self

We always think,  what would we say  to our  younger self? However,  what would  our younger self say  if they met us, today?

Turning 40 - Grateful and Renewed

I became a forty-year-old individual yesterday.  The milestone is very significant for many and has its societal measures and benchmarks that carry some fear for those approaching its gates. Regardless of approach, turning 40 is filled with reflection, pondering (of course), and preparation for what should be a "new" stage of life. A life stage centered around "transitioning" into a stage seen as the "pre-senior" years.  Sure. Whatever.  I won't disagree that the new "4" digit that sits in front of your age feels encompassing even without understanding completely. Yet, as I stated last year when I turned 39 (going into my 40th year on this earth), I was ready for it. Ready for 40. Today, oddly enough, I am not filled with profound life lessons, ponderings, or reflections.  I sit here, punching the keys, filled with gratitude. I am 40, and I love it.   I carry my baggage of life and bear scars from it at 40. I am grateful for so many experien...

Knicks Trauma - Ugh Not Again

Well, that was a kick in the stomach.  Coming off a week where the word "catharsis" was used as the description for the euphoria and release of joy from two and a half decades of suffering, Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers brought about another word - trauma.  Watching the Knicks collapse was the kind of moments that come with these deep runs and moments. NBA Playoff basketball will do that. Yet, this loss - this one - feels about as bad as the 2004 ALCS when the Yankees collapsed in the series to the Boston Red Sox.  That one carries some serious trauma. Luckily, the series isn't over.  Some other quick thoughts from this awful, awful night, New York Knicks Basketball.  - Not to conjure up hyperbole, or even contribute to "hot take" sports reaction culture - but this might have been the worst loss in Knicks franchise history. I cannot think of another in my lifetime, or historically.  - Tyrese Haliburton's "choke"...