Review of Cars 3 (2017) by Mike G — 16 Jun 2017

Cars 3 is that rare gem from a trilogy that went off the rails with the second entry. It not only is a great film on it's own; it obliterates the awful second chapter while enhancing and elevating the original film. When Pixar started the Cars series most people thought it looked cute. Then, with the first movie, they got a cute but also heartfelt and tender movie about a racecar learning what is really important in the world. Through Lightning's eyes we saw the old abandoned parts of the country made new and realized that sometimes; forgotten relics from the past deserve to be remembered. Then the toys sold like gangbusters and the second Cars movie was born. Cars 2 attempted to be a James Bond movie with the silly sidekick of Mater put into the 007 role. It was a noble try but a spectacular failure. To put it bluntly it is Pixar's worst movie in their history. When Cars 3 was announced most people had the same reaction; 'Why'? Well, the trailer alleviated some fears. Now, seeing the movie, we can really see how the Pixar magic that was around for the first entry is back in the latest. McQueen is in a rut. All of his contemporaries are retiring or being replaced by younger, faster cars. He loses to one of those cars too; and then just keeps on losing. After a major accident his entire future in jeopardy. He meets a new trainer, Cruz Ramierez, who uses a new régime to attempt to train and strengthen McQueen and get him back on the right track. Things happen along the way to the climactic race and the two form a totally different kind of mentor/mentee relationship. It's similar to the relationship McQueen had with Doc in the first film but in surprisingly different ways. The film looks at sports and how some athletes are forced to leave when they feel the might have juice left in the tank. All told it's an exciting entry for the franchise, a remarkable finale if this proves to be the last one, and another shining entry in the Pixar series of films.

Also, the short featured before the movie, Lou, is a cute and fun little movie about a sentient pile of lost and found objects who teach a small minded bully an important life lesson, no matter what the cost and outcome.