Cars 2

josh: morning, didn't see cars
saw 1st 2 eps of true blood ssn 4

matt: Good morning! So did you want me to tell you what I thought of it, or just talk about X-Men First Class

josh: might as well tell me what you thought without any spoilers

we could also talk about xmen

i did just watch the trailer for brave

matt: OK... Well, talking in a general way... I thought Cars 2 was the first Pixar movie that was not up to their usual standards.

josh: not even up to cars 1?

matt: Well, I wasn't a big fan of Cars 1 either, but this really suffers from sequel-itis.

Why don't I talk about what I DID like, and then try to describe what I didn't like, without spoiling anything?

josh: very good

i wasn't a cars fan either

matt: Well, once again, the film looks great. The designs for everything are amazing. I was spending so much time admiring the details in the visuals - and there are TONS of Easter Eggs in there - that I actually lost track of the plot at one point.

josh: that's funny, but i guess your average movie-goer won't be geeking out on a lot of that stuff, but still, if the plot was engaging enough, you wouldn't be distracted

matt: It's not that the plot wasn't engaging, it was more a matter of not directing the viewer's attention, I think. You're following along, and then there's a scene change, and you go "Ooooh, look at that.... wait, what just happened?"

josh: right, hm

matt: Ok... well the other thing I liked was the opening sequence, where we are introduced to Michael Caine's spy character.

It's a really fun action sequence, lots of explosions, gunfire... very cool. Like James Bond but done with cars.

josh: that sounds cool

matt: In fact, I might have liked this film better if it was JUST that - leave McQueen and Mater and the rest, and just start fresh with the new spy characters. They're still cars, so the title still fits. The established characters from the first film kind of get in the way...

josh: yeah, the main characters of cars I always thought were kind of basic

matt: Which brings me to what I thought didn't work in the film...

How much detail do you want me to go into?

josh: hang on.....

ok, go on please

matt: Well, I thought the plot was a mess, which was a bit of a disappointment for a Pixar film, which usually have some of the tightest stories in modern film making.

josh: sorry, i'm also having a conversation here...

matt: No probs, I'm still trying to figure out a way to say what I want to without spoiling anything for you

josh: heheheh

matt: One thing I will say: too much Mater. Waaay too much, for my liking. This is actually a story about Mater, Lightning McQueen is a minor character in this story

josh: hm, i can see that

he's the character that kids laugh at most.

i think the cars series might suffer from pet project syndrome. Lasseter may get too much of a kick out of the premise alone

matt: Yeah, the whole film seemed like a bit of a merchandise commercial. And I just tired of his "Hey, I'm dumb! Lookit me, ain't I dumb?" humor

There was another cool character, a Formula One car voiced by Jon Turturro, who was great, but also kind of shortchanged by the Mater plotline.

Oh, and the actual plot of the spy caper part of the story makes NO sense. They throw in a line right at the end which basically negates the motivation of the film's villain. I was left thinking "Soooo.... none of this actually had to happen" - it's hard to talk about it without going into specifics

The script was not up to Pixar's usual standards... the characters would contradict themselves, sometimes within the same line. Michael Caine's character has a line towards the end where he basically says "Mater, I thought you were an idiot, but you're actually one of the smartest cars I've ever known". REALLY? Mater - one of the smartest cars ever? It just comes off as a kind of unearned moment of transformation, like "the sky is now green because I say it is"

"I thought you were a fuck-up, but since the good guys won, it must be okay to be a fuck-up"

josh: lol

matt: Also, I just have a problem with the Cars world, which seems inconsistent in its conceptual design - why are there human-sized items like payphones in a world without humans? But that could apply to the first movie as well.

josh: man, i guess if pixar has to have a vehicle (no pun intended) to pander down to, let it be this one and don't spread it around

i kinda don't know what to say, I wasn't really planning on seeing it, then I thought I would for the blog, now you've sold me on not

matt: ok, so then can I talk about the plot problem?

josh: sure, just try to avoid major stuff that would make me not enjoy it at all

matt: Ahh, okay... the film has a "mysterious villain" (who is pretty easy to figure out)

The villain is trying to discredit a new gasoline-alternative fuel that McQueen and the other cars are using in the movie's races

Once the villain's identity is revealed, the cracks in the plot start to appear... you start wondering, "but if he's behind it all, why did he do this-and-that?"

And if that's not bad enough, the female secret agent has a line at the end which is something like "Oh and by the way, that alternative fuel was really gasoline".... WTF?

josh: wow. that really sounds all over the place

at this point i think that series is just a kids, money making, marketing scheme

matt: Yeah the whole experience felt very commercial - three or four Cars-related endorsements for different companies before the movie, then the short film before the movie was even a sequel of sorts - the Toy Story characters are back! A bit of a disappointment after such creative efforts as Presto, Lifted, Day and Night

josh: i think they're getting a bit too big for their britches

matt: I think your "pet project" theory may have some weight

josh: then again, even in the heyday of disney, they had all this ancillary stuff that was iffy

it seems that pixar is just growing, and in doing so some things can't get the attention they may need

a good review sir, sorry you didn't enjoy it more

kinda sux tho. i was hoping this one would bring me into the cars realm

matt: Yeah... sorry.... I didn't enjoy it