Review of Cars 3 (2017) by Pur__0_0__ — 24 Apr 2021

I have been a huge fan of the Cars franchise ever since the first movie. I was really excited to watch it, since as a kid I was very much into sports cars and racing games. So this movie, which was actually good, seemed like a dream come true for me. I really liked the sequel too (that's a review for another time) and I was really disappointed to know that other people don't like this movie. So my hopes went up when I heard the third movie is also coming.

The movie begins with a callback to the first movie, and it really sends me back to nostalgia. The races are always fun to watch for me, so the beginning absolutely nailed it. Soon after we finally get to see what McQueen looks like without his racing decals on, he's given a new paint job to make him compete against the next gen cars. I really liked the building in which McQueen trains.

The training montages of Cars 3 could have been boring if it was a live action movie. It's a good thing it's an animated movie. Such scenes look more appealing to the eyes. And speaking of visual appeal, Cars 3 continues to maintain the same gorgeous visuals that we get to see in Pixar. The demolition derby scene wasn't as funny as the tractor scene from Cars, but it was enjoyable while it lasted so I won't complain. The bar scene was, well, pretty forgettable, I guess. I had to watch CinemaSins to remember that scene ever happened. And that's actually saying something, since I always remember every scene of movies that I watch on a big screen.

I really liked Storm. If I was a kid he'd be my favourite character from the entire franchise (but no one can top Ramone for me). He is better than Lightning McQueen in everything, plus he also looks so good. I wish he was given more runtime and not shown to push Cruz against the wall in the end. That completely ruined his character for me. Cruz was also a pretty decent character. I see people talking about how Cruz ruined the movie, but she could have been worse, like the spy from Cars 2. Many previous cars are also given cameos like Doc Hudson, Ramone (yay!), Luigi, Guido, Mater, Sally among others. This is a good sign of the franchise continuing with those characters, unlike most animated sequels which completely discard all the characters from the previous movies.

And most importantly, it's the message that this movie gives that makes it memorable. Cars gave the message that humility and being down to earth is what makes a better person, no matter how much successful they become. Cars 2 didn't give a message, it was just a spy movie and that's why it got so much hate. Here the message is more of a question. If Lightning wanted, he could have just added new parts and become a faster racer. He could have used crooked means like Chick Hicks if he wanted. Or, he could have even won the race when he had the chance. But he didn't do any of this. The reason being, the fact that no matter how much edgy and ignorant he seems, deep down he is well aware of being a good person. And he used this to bring Cruz to the limelight she deserved and retired like a hero.

Cars 3 was a great movie in my opinion. The bad reviews don't matter much to me. But at the same time I also don't want this franchise to continue making movies like these. It had its fair share of problems and plot holes, which is why I removed two stars. I'd want this franchise to make more movies like the first one, which are more driven by character development and every scene is well constructed.