&lt;div class=&quot;track&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.22.2/61154?ns=guardian&amp;pageName=Cars+2+*+review%3AArticle%3A1610225&amp;ch=Film&amp;c3=Obs&amp;c4=Pixar%2CAnimation+%28Film+genre%29%2COwen+Wilson+%28Film%29%2CMichael+Caine%2CFilm%2CCulture&amp;c5=Not+commercially+useful%2CFilm+Reviews&amp;c6=Philip+French&amp;c7=11-Jul-25&amp;c8=1610225&amp;c9=Article&amp;c10=Review&amp;c11=Film&amp;c13=&amp;c25=&amp;c30=content&amp;h2=GU%2FFilm%2FPixar&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;This 3D animated movie does not show the formidable Pixar team at its best. It opens with the eight-minute Hawaiian Holiday, an enjoyable, commonplace curtain-raiser in which Andy, Buzz Lightyear and the &lt;em&gt;Toy Story &lt;/em&gt;gang stage an exotic Pacific vacation in the nursery for Ken and Barbie, who had expected to accompany their owner on a family outing to Honolulu. &lt;em&gt;Cars 2&lt;/em&gt;, the main event, is a tired espionage spoof, a fast-moving, overlong sequel to the anthropomorphic 2006 feature about the human cars of Radiator Springs. This time, local racing car Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) enters a World Grand Prix staged in Japan, France, Italy and Great Britain. However, his dimwitted sidekick, the tow truck Mater, is mistaken for a key CIA man by Bond-style British spy Finn McMissile (Michael Caine), who&#039;s pursuing an international master criminal. Though technically up to snuff, it&#039;s flat-footed stuff. Mater ends up imprisoned in Westminster inside a clock rather than another car (Big Bentley) and knighted by the Queen, who is, inevitably, a Rolls-Royce.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;related&quot; style=&quot;float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;&quot;&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/pixar&quot;&gt;Pixar&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/animation&quot;&gt;Animation&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/owenwilson&quot;&gt;Owen Wilson&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/michael-caine&quot;&gt;Michael Caine&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;author&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/philipfrench&quot;&gt;Philip French&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;terms&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.guardian.co.uk&quot;&gt;guardian.co.uk&lt;/a&gt; &amp;copy; 2011 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our &lt;a href=&quot;http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html&quot;&gt;Terms &amp; Conditions&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds&quot;&gt;More Feeds&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;