REVIEW: ‘Cars 3’ a race worth watching
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Dear Pixar, I’m still waiting for that “Incredibles” sequel…
While waiting for that, though, I’ll be pretty happy if you keep making movies like “Cars 3”.
“Car 3” is fairly familiar tale about a once-great champion making a comeback. After a horrific crash, Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) finds himself in a world where he’s obsolete, replaced by a new generation of racers like Jackson Storm (Armie Hammer). Together with his trainer, Cruz (Cristela Alonzo) and his crew, Lightning sets out to find his mentor’s trainer, Smokey (Chris Cooper), and recover his mojo for one more race.
This movie is a lot of fun. The racing sequences are exciting. The jokes are pretty funny. The whole movie looks beautiful. Lightning McQueen is a character that is enjoyable to spend time with, and you can’t help but pull for him as he tries to regain his championship form.
Old favorites like Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) ,Bob Cutlass (Bob Costas) and Darrell Cartrip (Darrell Waltrip) show up and provide plenty of levity. The new characters fill their roles well, particularly Storm and smarmy businessman Sterling (Nathan Fillion). The voice cast is on their game, which is no surprise for a Pixar film.
What was surprising, at least to me is how overstuffed the story was. This movie has a lot to do, and it packs every bit of its 109 minute run time. The problem is that we lose a lot of character moments to facilitate the plot. We barely see Sally (Bonnie Hunt), and given that she and Lightning got so close in the first movie, that seems wrong.
Other characters feel flat and one-dimensional. Smokey is the archetypal wise old mentor … and that’s it. There’s no time to get any deeper into his character. Same with Storm and Sterling. They are good characters that play the parts the story needs them to play, but it would be nice to get to know them better.
In the place of character building, we get a lot of racing. Not only are there the big NASCAR-style contests, but we also see Lightning drive really fast on a beach and on old dirt tracks. Plus there’s a demolition derby scene that is pretty fantastic. The action is fast, fluid and exhilarating. In the end, the race scenes are worth the price of admission.
“Cars 3” is not Pixar at their best. The bloated story and thin characters keep this film a few rung lower on the ladder than classics like “Toy Story” or “Monsters, Inc.” But it’s a fun movie that comments on aging and cultivating the best in others. We need stories that speak to inspiring those around us. And “Cars 3” is a good one.
Now, what about that “Incredibles” sequel?…