Did Pixar finally strike out?

[MetalJunkie]

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cars-2/

This can't be possible. It's fucking Pixar.

[Fiery Winds]

I believe the original Cars was their lowest rated film on RT.  While I'll still see it and probably enjoy it, I'm not surprised it's not doing well (though audience rating is currently more than double the critic rating). 

[ClairvoyantCat]

Wow, this is a bit sad actually!  I believe that's never happened.
 
Then again, I can't say that I'm horribly shocked, simply slightly shocked.  I honestly couldn't imagine Cars being remade and having it go super well for them in the first place.  The first was a pretty fun film, though certainly one of their weakest in terms of depth, and it would have been quite alright as a stand-alone.  Conversely, I'm surprised that even Pixar couldn't have made it work.  I was expecting more in the 70-percent approval range like the last.  But, of course, I wouldn't be surprised if they've worn out their car-related jokes, I think the first one just about covered it in that world.  They've got a number of other films which I think deserved sequel treatment more than this one. 

Nevertheless, still love them to death.  Let's hope this ends up being just "that one" clunker. 

(though audience rating is currently more than double the critic rating). 

Well, I'm afraid to say that's pretty common.  Say, Tranformers 2 is nearly quadruple in that respect.  To me that's enough for reasonable distrust in the audience opinion.

[glaurung]

The first cars was total crap so I'm not surprised to see the sequel is even worse.

[ZBomber]

Whatever possessed them to make a Cars 2 in the first place?

[Dimitrius]

Whatever possessed them to make a Cars 2 in the first place?

The billions of dollars they made in merchandise?

[axeman90210]

I never saw the first Cars, but any trust I have in Pixar was overwhelmed by "this is a sequel featuring the voice acting talents of Larry the Cable Guy", didn't think Cars 2 would go over very well.

[MetalJunkie]

I believe the original Cars was their lowest rated film on RT.

It was still 74%.

[rumborak]

I'm one of the few who liked Cars 1. But yeah, making a sequel seemed totally superfluous. Will still watch it, but my expectations are not very high.

rumborak

[ClairvoyantCat]

The first cars was total crap so I'm not surprised to see the sequel is even worse.

I can't really see it being "total crap."  Sub-par compared to the other amazing work in Pixar's catalog?  Yeah, I'll give it that, but not total crap.  No way.  I thought it was still enjoyable. 

[Bombardana]

It's their own fault for deciding to make a sequel for their worst film.

[ehra]

It's their own fault for deciding to make a sequel for their worst film.

I didn't know Pixar made A Bug's Life 2.

[toro]

It's their own fault for deciding to make a sequel for their worst film.

I didn't know Pixar made A Bug's Life 2.

A Bug's Life is not that bad, Cars on the other hand it's HORRIBLE.

[JayOctavarium]

wow

[Adami]

No one has a perfect career. Except for darren aranofsky so far.

[Nigerius Rex]

I always kinda felt like mater was a gimmick character from the beginning, and it seems from the critic reviews they agree making him the main character brought the movie down instead of making it better. Still though, it seems like it will be financially successful and I doubt Pixar will make the same mistakes again.

Also, this reviewer pointed out something interesting:

Not every Pixar feature needs to be deeply profound or lead you to the brink of tears for it to be a worthwhile experience. What's so wrong with just having a blast at the movies? Most of the time that's all my inner-child needs.

Maybe my own expectations are just too high.

[Aefenwelg]

I'm gonna rehash, but:

Never saw the first one because I knew it was not going to be good.
Won't see this one because I knew (and turns out I was right) it was going to blow.

Everything else Pixar has done ranges from great to supergreat.

If Cars 2 gets them more money to make their good movies, I'm fine with it.

[Ultimetalhead]

This movie was doomed to fail. First off, it's a sequel to the worst-received Pixar film, which was a dumb move to begin with. Second, coming off the hinges of 3 cinematic masterpieces (Wall-E, Up, and Toy Story 3) which all got immense, universal critical acclaim, a movie that isn't on par with those just isn't going to fare as well.

[Aefenwelg]

Hmmm, you know what?

It's probably a good thing they made Cars 2.
If they tried to make a good movie, it would probably still pale in comparison to those previous three films.

Cars 2 kind of cleansed our pallet.

[axeman90210]

No one has a perfect career. Except for darren aranofsky so far.

nah, he made Black Swan

[Gadough]

As I said in the movie thread. This film was probably made for the sake of profiting off the merchandise associated with it. Why else would they make a sequel of their least popular film? Because there are a lot of 5 year old boys in America that will get their moms to buy them a Lightning McQueen racecar toy. I don't think Pixar intended for this film to be that good.

[Pyroph]

I agree with you on the making money part, but that last sentence, not so much.

[ariich]

The first cars was total crap so I'm not surprised to see the sequel is even worse.

I can't really see it being "total crap."  Sub-par compared to the other amazing work in Pixar's catalog?  Yeah, I'll give it that, but not total crap.  No way.  I thought it was still enjoyable. 

This completely. The first one is a fun and enjoyable film, and the hate it seems to get is just ridiculous. I'm expecting the same to be the case for the sequel.

It's not even out for another month anyway, so the snobby critics can go shove it, I'll wait to see what people think when it actually gets released.

Well, I'm afraid to say that's pretty common.  Say, Tranformers 2 is nearly quadruple in that respect.  To me that's enough for reasonable distrust in the audience opinion.

Interesting thinking, but not something I can relate to at all. I'm an audience member, not a critic. Therefore I trust the opinions of movie-goers and film-lovers a lot more than those of people who are paid to pick holes in things.

[ZBomber]

It's not even out for another month anyway, so the snobby critics can go shove it, I'll wait to see what people think when it actually gets released.

It was released in the US, I'm pretty sure. 

[ariich]

Oh right. That RT link says July 22nd worldwide.

EDIT: Hmm, you're right, that's just the UK release date. Perhaps RT and IMDB display it that way as default to me because I'm in the UK.

[orcus116]

Pixar as a whole is starting to wane with me. Their premises are solid, the art style and animation are always top notch, their actual storytelling is fantastic but they've been pounding the same basic formula of "stick with your friends through the end" over and over. Not to sound like a crotchety old guy but that kind of mush made the majority of both Up and Toy Story 3 kinda boring and predictable. Still solid movies but more in a interesting animation kinda way than a great story kind of way. Wouldn't shock me if this movie wasn't really up to par but as has been pointed out it's all about the merchandise. I do really hope Brave kicks some serious ass, though.

[Heretic]

Not too surprised, I feel like when they started making Mater or whatever his name almost as important as the main character, the movie didn't have as much as a chance.

Pixar's stuff up until this has been pretty spot on, and I'm sure this isn't the beginning of the end or anything. Cars wasn't a fantastic, groundbreaking movie, it was just a fun family film, something I'm sure this one is, too. Either way, I wouldn't worry about the company or their movie-making quality at all.

[ReaPsTA]

Look, I liked Cars 1 a lot, and I haven't seen Cars 2, but this isn't rocket science - the premise sucks.  Mater (played by Larry the Cable Guy) as the main character in an espionage movie?  How's that's supposed to work?  Especially given that the trailer implies that he isn't fully competent at the job.  So why do we want to root for him?  Also, it sounds basic, but as an audience member I want to see what Lightning McQueen has been up to since he became a big racer and what he's doing.  Mater's the sidekick, I don't have an overwhelming need to see him in the main plot.

No amount of good execution can save a plot with that much working against it.

[rumborak]

Wait, Mater is the main character in the movie? Yeah, that could get rather annoying after a while. He was fun as the slightly retarded hick sidekick, but I can't see how he can carry a whole movie.

rumborak

[Dimitrius]

No one has a perfect career. Except for darren aranofsky so far.

nah, he made Black Swan

You broke my heart, axe, you broke my heart.

[Adami]

No one has a perfect career. Except for darren aranofsky so far.

nah, he made Black Swan

You broke my heart, axe, you broke my heart.

At least Black Swan didn't break his perfect streak.

[tjanuranus]

No one has a perfect career. Except for darren aranofsky so far.

nah, he made Black Swan

EXCUSE ME? That was a modern masterpiece.

[TL]

Honestly, Pixar broke their streak when they made Cars 1. It was their first film that was strictly a children's film rather than a family film.

That said, they made over $5 billion on 'Cars' merchandising, so it's not the least bit surprising that they made a sequel. As long as they keep making films like Up and Wall-E, I don't mind them having the occasional massive payday like this.

[MetalJunkie]

No one has a perfect career. Except for darren aranofsky so far.

nah, he made Black Swan

[lateralus88]

No one has a perfect career. Except for darren aranofsky so far.

nah, he made Black Swan

I demand you cease to exist.