Genre: Animation
Directors: John Lasseter, Brad Lewis
Stars: Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, Michael Caine
**
Pixar’s ’toon machine spins its wheels with this low-octane sequel to Cars, its 2006 clunker.
The movie opens like a James Bond picture, with an Aston Martin (voiced by Michael Caine) seeking to infiltrate an oil rig in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
There’s some international skulduggery afoot with Jaguar-shaped Holley Shiftwell (voiced by Emily Mortimer.)
Back in the desert town of Radiator Springs, race car Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) and his tow truck sidekick, Tow Mater (Larry the Cable Guy), are preparing for their own international adventure that involves green energy.
Cars 2’s busy plot has many strands. Its spy narrative works, but its green-fuel subplot threatens to send the film into reverse. This Pixar product, its treads thinning, is aimed primarily at younger kids (toys?). It’s a case of money driving over art.
