Alongside such Pixar hits as Monsters, Inc, Toy Story, and The Incredibles, Cars 2 comes off like a Yugo in a lot full of Porsches. Paul Newman and George Carlin added class to the first one, but with those two gone, the sequel chugs along on fumes. Those fumes mostly consist of Larry the Cable Guy as hick tow truck Mater, culturally adrift in Tokyo and London as he tries to help his slick red buddy, Lightning McQueen (a nonchalant Owen Wilson) reclaim racing glory in the World Grand Prix and crack a nefarious bio-fuel cartel. Michael Caine adds a touch of style as Finn McMissile, a 007-styled Aston Martin, but Pixar visionary John Lasseter (directing here with Brad Lewis) should have left this sputtering galumph on the table and pumped the gas into Toy Story 4.
