First reviews of Cars 2 point to another Pixar hit – but not everyone’s happy

This year’s Disney-Pixar blockbuster Cars 2 hits US theatres on Friday, and following the world premiere in Hollywood this past weekend, reviews have now started to appear.

According to Rotten Tomatoes I’m not alone in my opinion that the original Cars movie is one of Pixar’s weaker efforts. So what’s the outlook for Cars 2?

Mostly good, with critics praising the visual spectacle (unsurprisingly) set against a world backdrop, as the storyline takes characters to famous settings all over the globe.

HitFix notes that the sequel does away with the “thematic weight of the original” (a good thing) and Urban Cinefile enthuses abut the “utterly brilliant animation, inventive story telling”.

But the film’s looking at 80% right now on Rotten Tomatoes, with negative comments creeping in too: Cinema Autopsy offers the most unimpressed review so far, claiming that “Cars 2 is not only the weakest Pixar film to date, but it’s the first one that can be sadly dismissed as not particularly worth seeing.” Wowzers!

Screen International’s critic says it’s ”base-level entertainment on a familiarly laid racetrack… Cars 2 doesn’t have the same adventurousness of spirit that marks Pixar’s best efforts.”

Urban Cinefile is a little more balanced: “A tad too complicated but there’s a large bonnet full of surprises, laughs and adventures as brilliant action and chaos explodes onscreen.”

In less tomatoey places The Pixar Blog reports on a couple of favourable reviews, including Variety’s: “Unexpectedly delightful… The rare sequel that not only improves on but retroactively justifies its predecessor.”

Cars 2 is showing from June 24 in the US and hits UK cinemas on July 22.