Cars 3: Review

Cars 3 is directed by Brian Fee and stars Owen Wilson in what seems to be our last lap of the cars trilogy. After a serious crash leaves racing sensation Lightning McQueen's career in the lay-by, he must train harder and faster and prove to a new generation of high tech racers he is still the fastest car in the world. 

It may have been a bumpy ride to get to this point in the series - Cars 3 however,  proves enough petrol's left in the tank for one high speed, last outing. A poignant story serves as the perfect medicine the franchise desperately needed after Cars 2 acquired neither the heart or brains of the original. Cars 3 sticks to the roots of what the Cars philosophy has aimed to convey - this time revealing the previously untold story of Doc Hudson. 

As children's films develop into smarter, more telling stories, Cars is always one to be mocked for its - oddly enough - immaturity, unable to reach the high standards Pixar have set themselves. Cars 3 possesses the humour, sparkle and charm of each great Pixar movie before, it can't not be compared to such masterpieces as Up and WALL-E. That being said it's hard to convince those who have never been on board with the cars series from the beginning. Above all a great sense of nostalgia is felt across the entire adventure, and plays as a love letter to those who have stuck with the series through the past nine years. It becomes increasingly less about racing and more about the legacy of its characters.

The most telling aspect to Cars 3 is how it finds the right balance to explore three different characters stories in one film. Whilst all three cars, McQueen, Cruz, and Doc at first glance have such contrasting personalities, Fee finds a focal point within each one of them that draws the three together in the most tactful way.

Here we are introduced to the sensational Cristela Alonzo as the zippy Cruz Ramirez who offers our most contrasting, quite possibly finest cars character to date. Most admirable, Pixar take a chance on this comfortably boy-friendly franchise, shaking things up with an exhilaratingly energetic female presence. Disney set themselves a challenge of branching out female role models into 'boy films' in hope that they enjoy the movie just as much with a girl, and hopefully widen their audience to reach little girls. With her energy and excitement, Cruz is the affable addition to the cars series we all deserved.

Cars 3 may not catch the heart of many but it has certainly caught mine. It's easy to go the route of a kids film and conclude with an ending everyone wanted but realistically this is Pixar! It sells itself as a high tech adventure in which McQueen must compete with the technologically advanced rookies - and if so this would-be a wholly different outcome. Cars 3 stays true to the original, exploring the true means of racing rather than just the gadgets and gismos ; not only the poignant story of Doc Hudson is finally told but the story of Lightning McQueen the series has struggled to accomplish. Smart, sentimental and a beautiful narrative. Cars 3 is another well deserved thread into the pixar tapestry. 

I am going to give Cars 3:

9.3/10