Review: Cars 2

Star racecar Lightning McQueen and the incomparable tow truck Mater take their friendship to exciting new places 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 (Larry the Cable Guy) gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage. Torn between assisting Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) in the high-profile race and towing the line in a top-secret spy mission, 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. Adding to the fast-paced fun is a colorful new all-car cast that includes secret agents, menacing villains and international racing competitors.

"Cars" is new and improved, and this time Tow Mater is in the spotlight as America's newest super spy. Although Mater is only mistaken as a spy by British secret service agent Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) and his partner Holly Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer), he manages to save his best friend Lightning McQueen and countless others from a conspiracy that would shake up the world.

In the first installment my thoughts were that Owen Wilson being cast as Lightning McQueen was quite the mistake, yet it worked. In "Cars 2", my thinking was that Mater should not be in the spotlight because that is where McQueen belongs. Wrong again! Mater struggles with staying close to his best friend even to the point of intruding on his relationship and tagging along to the World Grand Prix. His antics as you can imagine are somewhat damaging to McQueen's racing campaign however Mater's heart of course is in the right place and he does do right by Lightning in the end.

3 out of 4 buckets