Review | Cars 3 (2017 / 109 minutes / US)
It is ostensibly an unspoken rule that film series with much ambition for multiple sequels run the risk of a nadir of its creative output. The examples of such are endless; and for Pixar’s Cars, that low point was reached in its first sequel, Cars 2, a movie which will also be remembered as one of the animation studio’s worst. Cars 3 seems like a risky project but thankfully, its creators knew enough to stick to the formula that works.
Once more, Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson), the gutsy stock car, takes to the tracks as a seasoned veteran and champion of the Piston Cup, a fictional parallel to NASCAR. Countless victories soon blindside the crimson body racer to the advent of sleeker, next-generation speed demons, headed by arrogant rookie, Jackson Storm (Armie Hammer).
Competition pressure soon catches up with McQueen — a brutal mid-race accident, followed by time-out and soul-searching before the likely has-been is lured by billionaire Sterling (Nathan Fillion) for an opportunity to redeem himself, though not in a manner he wants. He is then paired up with Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo), a trainer with a Jillian Michaels vibe, and who soon teaches him more than he would expect.
The Cars series is notable for its various kinds of characters, both major and minor, as — inevitably in an anthropomorphic-automobile world — all of these are drawn from a smorgasbord of real-life vehicles. The problem is creating memorable characters or worse, characters as annoying as Jar Jar Binks, aka McQueen’s best friend Mater (Larry the Cable Guy), who infamously took the spotlight in Cars 2.
So it feels refreshing that one can find a well-developed and surprisingly, likeable character in Ramirez, who has more to show in complexities and depth than most of the other personalities, including the old ones from the first film.
Speaking of old, the primary theme of Cars 3 is not just about old blood versus new blood (to add, the trope of new tech against old tech is getting repetitive in recent years), and how it evolves beyond that premise makes the master-student bond between the experienced McQueen and novice Ramirez one of the most meaningful relationships in recent Pixar history. It’s good to emphasise that this film learned its lessons, being a followup to the widely derided Cars 2, which was criticised for lacking the trademark, emotional component of the studio’s past features.
Sure enough, by the final act, when it becomes apparent how important Ramirez is to the plot, there’s little reason to remember the earlier shortcomings of Cars 3. It is not as remarkably exciting as the first film, though it at least avoids Cars 2’s odd choice of story and character focus.
And while subtly mawkish at times, Cars 3’s emotional dynamics finally work up to a satisfying and rather inspirational conclusion. Even the cameo appearance of Cars character Doc Hudson feels like a touching, appreciable tribute to its voice actor and respected thespian, the late Paul Newman.
Indeed, the idea of watching cars outracing each other would soon run its course of delivering excitement and without a story of substance, Cars 3 would just be one of Pixar’s bland offerings in its illustrious history. But its creators finally got something there: by making the characters that matter, matter even more, a film of a less significant series could bring about its creator’s usual brand of ‘life lessons’ sentimentality, which audiences would feel good over again.
That’s how Pixar wins the race of the box office once more.
