Cars 3 (2017)

I love the first Cars. Whilst it is regarded as the weakest Pixar franchise, I remember repeatedly watching Cars when I was younger, sometimes almost daily. I knew the songs, the lines, the jokes, and I do hold strong memories.

And just in case you were wondering, Cars 2 was a lazy, shambolic merchandise-selling mess, with a ridiculous spy story and immensely forgettable characters, and it is by far Pixars worst movie.

So when they announced they were making a third Cars film, I was worried we'd be getting another shameless merchandise side order, like Cars 2 and the spin-off Planes films.

But I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised with Cars 3.

Of course, with a Cars movie, you're not gonna get a perfect movie, and there are some negatives, and I'll get onto these, but on the whole, Cars 3 succeeded because it returned to the source material.

There's no stupid spy plot or Bin McMissile to be found here, this strips back to the racing plot lines of the first, and for the most part, they really work.

In this film, Lightning McQueen's popular reputation and winning streak is being diminished, as several new high-tech racers are coming on the scene, and after a deadly accident, McQueen is training using the latest technology with an enthusiastic trainer named Cruise Ramirez, but Lightning soon realises it's not him that needs the training...

This plot line really worked well. It didn't push any boundaries, but did contain a good emotional heart and was also funnier than I expected. We have lots of references to the first film and McQueen's popularity in marketing (well, that sums up Pixar's business profit in a nutshell) and it does give some good laughs.

And also the characters I felt were a strong improvement over the 2nd.

The supporting characters, like Cruise and Smokey, are plot devices but do work and have their own personality, although do take a whole to be likeable. The Radiator Springs Gang are there, but do just feel as if they're there because they're the Radiator Springs bunch.

And also, the obstacles that McQueen has to go through like, the demolition derby vehicles and the high-tech Jackson Storm, are both comically unique and do work for the film's plot.

There is also a great deal of emotional character development, with Cruise discovering who she really is and how McQueen was her childhood role model, and how McQueen is remembering his former mentor, Doc Hudson.

However, this is where the flaws of the movie come in. McQueen's memories of Hudson are used far too repetitively, with them cutting back to a flashback of Hudson every 10 minutes to remind us. It sometimes make the pacing in the 2nd act lag, as we're seeing the same stuff and being dripfeeded the same information over and over again.

Also, when McQueen first arrives at the training facility, there is a weird 10 minutes or so when the movie becomes very unfunny and painful to watch and you wonder what path the movie will take. It also gives a very poor and overly hyperactive introduction to Cruise Ramirez, who at first I HATED. I didn't find her funny, I just found her pathetic and annoying.

But overall, I enjoyed Cars 3. It's still not classic Pixar, but it greatly improves over its predecessor with an engaging racing story that boils the franchise back to its basic racing elements, some really nice animation, and flawed but memorable characters.

On an A+ to F scale, I will give Cars 3 a B.