Planes 2

Dusty Crophopper is now a successful famous air racer. He returns to Propwash Junction to promote the upcoming Corn Festival. His gearbox malfunctions and there are no replacements. His racing career is over. He recklessly pushes to the limits and crash lands at the airport. Old fire truck Mayday barely is able to put out the resulting fire. Government inspectors put the airport on notice. They need another firefighting vehicle. Dusty decides to get certified as a firefighter.

I like the start of this movie a lot. I like Dusty's problem. I really like Mayday. I don't really like the move away from Propwash Junction. First it feels unlikely and unwarranted. Also it's just better to stay with some of the characters especially Mayday. The fire and firefighters could easily come to Propwash Junction. The stakes would be elevated if his hometown is threatened with destruction. The fire fighting scenes are quite exciting and a vast improvement over the first movie. This is generally a better movie than the first. It's rare but I think this movie is too short. There is a straight to video quality to this that better writing could solve.

The first "Planes" was a pleasant surprise. It may have had practically the same "race-against-all-odds" story as "Cars", "Turbo" and many other animated films. But "Planes" still managed to be distinct and charming on its own, for both kids and adults.

We get a lot of this homespun country charm again in this second installment called "Planes: Fire and Rescue." Our hero cropduster Dusty is having problems with his gear box and cannot push his engine to racing anymore. A fire at his hangar revealed the inadequacy of the fire-fighting capabilities of his area, so Dusty decided to try and have himself accredited as a Fire-Fighter.

For adults, this may be an average affair for the most part. Even my tween kids did not too interested about watching it. Personally, my favorite part was when it was revealed that Dusty's stern mentor Blade Ranger (authoritatively voiced by Ed Harris) was once an actor in a TV cop-show called "CHoPs", which had the very familiar theme song of 70's motorcycle cop show "CHiPs"! The nostalgia brought a smile to my face.

The story is pretty slim, standard and predictable, so this episode spent a lot of time showing grand forest vistas, amazingly realistic and scary fire scenes and more amazing aerial feats by Dusty and the other fire-fighting aircraft. Despite the fact that this is a film for kids, I give it props for tackling a form of heroism not usually shown on the big screen -- fire and rescue teams.

At first, I really thought this movie was okay and was a little bland, but the second half made it a little better. Also, the comedy raised it to a 7 for me, there were hilarious jokes on there that made me laugh. I like this better than the first Planes, because this story is more original. The first planes is just basically Cars on wings, it's based off of Cars making the story less original. Planes 2 is original and is about something different than racing. Sort of like Cars 2, which is racing/fighting action. But Planes 2 is better than Cars 2, because the 2nd movie still has the Planes vibe, whereas with Cars 2, it's nothing like the first Cars. Planes 2 had a few things like comedy and a great second half that made a comeback and saved it from having the pleasure of being a 5.0 movie. But a few comments. 1. There are continuity errors like the fact that he can't push his engine to like 250 mph without his engine having an error, but in the first one, he can outrace supersonic jets that go 700 mph. 2. Another continuity error, the girl he was with in the first one was completely forgotten. As if they don't really hang out anymore, and has a new girl in the movie that just sweeps aside the girl in the first Planes movie. However, I think the 2nd girl was more exciting in my opinion. 3. I think that fancy car should have been more of an enemy just to make the story interesting, he would make a great villain. For example, if he wouldn't let Dusty save the people, only the landscape. But yeah, overall, this movie gets a 7(Good).

29 August 2014 First film of choice at the Plaza Dorchester tonight - Planes 2 - Fire and Rescue. Those who know me know that I am passionate about aviation and animation, so put the two together add a tub of popcorn and I'm in heaven. Another splendid offering from the mighty John Lasseter at Disney, Planes, like cars before, has a play on ordinarily life but this time with an aviation slant. There are planes doing human jobs, all the buildings, signs, billboards, restaurants etc are all designed to accommodate all kinds of aircraft from single turboprop, airliners and the large rotating blades of the helicopters. When Dusty Crophopper - air race champion - is found to have a gearbox problem he thinks his racing career is over and he goes to Piston Peak to train as a firefighter. He meets a whole new gang of planes - each with their own huge personalities and he goes through many highs and lows to achieve his goal. The best lines from the film were from the parachuting groundcrew who when told by their transport plane ' I never understand how you can jump out of a perfectly good aeroplane' replied - 'It's okay we are just jumping out of you!' A good soundtrack too, look out for the line dancing fork lift trucks, and at the beginning of the film I spotted a British airways airliner in the crowd.

Planes: Fire and Rescue is about second chances. Dusty is a hot shot plane until one day he is at a crossroads in life, so he decides to join the world of fire rescue. Filled with a cast of fun characters this movie touts on bravery and the forgotten machines that protect us during unexpected natural disasters. In this case it is fire. There is a little bit for everyone, excitement, romance, and team work. This movie is cute and has a fun story line. The animated characters give a reality to the behind the scenes of fire fighting. It also gives you a boast on the optimism of new opportunities. No matter what happens you are able to reinvent yourself and be a part of the team. Colorful and enigmatic Planes: Fire & Rescue make you ready to take on a life of adventure.