Review of Cars 3 (2017) by Nick C — 19 Jun 2017

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Pixar Animation Studios was once more than just the best animation studio in the business. They were invincible, or so it seemed. Not only was their computer animation the most advanced and groundbreaking of the entire field, but also they were also master storytellers, which was really their greatest strength. Toy Story, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles. And then along came Cars. A fairly harmless picture, yes, but it was really the first time Pixar didn't create a full-on masterpiece. But they continued their winning streak with Ratatouille, WALL-E, and Up, which were all more complex pictures than their originals, and just as great if not more great than them. Toy Story 3 was a slam-dunk, and then along came Cars 2, Pixar's first dud. After this, though, they wouldn't return to masterpieces. Brave, Monsters University, The Good Dinosaur were three of the mediocre follow-ups to the 2011 misstep, which all rank among Pixar's worst films. Yes, Inside Out came out around then, and is really Pixar's only full-out masterpiece since Toy Story 3. Finding Dory was pretty good, yes, but now along comes Cars 3, which I am sorry to say is one of Pixar's worst films. Again, this once invincible animation studio has fallen on their face with another mediocre entry.

Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) is not the racer he used to be. He's getting old, and a new generation of racers has arrived. The fastest of these racers is Jackson Storm (Armie Hammer), a rookie sensation not unlike McQueen in his "glory days." Storm is cocky and arrogant, also not unlike McQueen at the beginning of the original Cars, and to make matters worse, McQueen gets into a huge crash and could possibly drive him out of the sport for good. But McQueen's not giving up that easily. He gives Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo) the task of getting him back up to speed for the Florida 500, which he sees as his opportunity for a big comeback.

The first act of this movie is a mess, to put it lightly. It doesn't seem to have any coherent direction, and is all over the place in terms of plot. The problem I think is that the film is trying to balance too many plot points, and doesn't have the focused, clear narrative that a little kid's movie, or any movie for that matter, needs. By the second act, the plot begins to settle down and become more focused, and we're offered a series of cliché training sequences where Lightning trains with Cruz to get back on top, sort of akin to the multiple training sequences in Monsters University that made that film so boring and lacking of energy. Then we get to the Florida 500, the main event. This is where the film finally breaks free of all it's clichés, and we are offered a poignant surprise that most won't see coming. This is the best aspect of this otherwise dull, unfunny, and unfocused film, and catches you off guard enough in a powerful and heartwarming way that I walked out of the theater satisfied.

Three stars is the appropriate rating for this film. Like I said, I walked out with a smile on my face, and they do a good job with the final surprise that really alters the point of the entire movie and makes it much more special and meaningful. Still, the disappointment here is that this is the best Pixar has to offer. Okay, maybe not the best, but Monsters University was also marginally good because it had one final surprise that broke all of its clichés and made the message for children much more unconventional. Again, a neat trick to admire, but is all Pixar can do now? Surprise us with bittersweet, unconventional endings? What happened to movies like Monsters Inc. and Finding Nemo and Up, with such a sense of fun, a sense that this truly was a children's movie that adults could enjoy just as much if not more. They had emotional punches, great lessons, tons of creativity, and were all a lot of fun. Now I fear Pixar no longer wants to make fun movies that children can enjoy; they themselves seem to have lost the joy in being able to make a movie entirely with computer animation. Instead, it seems like each new film is laying out an agenda that tries to impress us by ending the way we don't expect. Finding Nemo spoiled the ending in the very title, and gave us exactly the ending we expected, yet it stands among Pixar's finest. I wish the studio would stop trying so hard to be the very best, because they fall on their face when their not able to conjure such greatness. Just go back to telling stories. But if Pixar can't do that, I suppose we should be lucky that this is one of their most lackluster results; entertainment, enjoyment, and surprises can still be found that make this an unconventional animated movie with its heart and message in the right place.

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Rating: 3/4.