Review #1,276: 'Cars 3' (2017)

From a purely merchandising point of view, Pixar's Cars franchise is nothing short of a masterstroke. Even if the films, spin-offs, and straight-to-DVD shorts aren't up to scratch - and they aren't - children will be sure to ask mummy and daddy for the latest sleek toy, no matter how obscure the character. In response, the Cars movies have added numerous forgettable new characters with each film, adding to their extensive range of collectables in the process. It's a cynical approach, but merchandise has always been Disney's bread-and-butter in their quest to seemingly own everything. As a result, Cars 2 was a huge disappointment; a half-arsed sequel to a movie that had already left many underwhelmed, which took the central story off on a random tangent and promoted the annoying sidekick to the central hero. Still, it made lots of money, so a trilogy-closer was inevitable.

Thankfully, Pixar and director Brian Fee have scrapped the spy thriller angle altogether, and relegated buck-toothed tow truck Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) back to the role of comic relief dished out in small doses. The focus is back on Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) and his antics on the race track, so Cars 3 is, if anything, a massive improvement on its predecessor. McQueen is now in the twilight of his career; a seven-time Piston Cup champion and bona fide racing legend, enjoying the on-track banter with his closest rivals. However, he is given a wake-up call when newcomer Jackson Storm (Armie Hammer), employing a fancy chassis, the latest in car technology, and an extensive knowledge of statistics, beats McQueen easily. Soon enough, his fellow veterans start retiring in droves, and those who don't are quickly laid off by their sponsors to make way for the new guys hot off the assembly line (or are they born?).

It's a bland and uninspiring story of the new out-muscling the old, but there are still things to enjoy in Cars 3. They've finally enlisted a female racer in the form of energetic personal trainer Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo), who treats McQueen like a car ready to fall apart at any second, and it also offers a fitting resolution to Doc's story, who was splendidly voiced by Paul Newman before he sadly passed, as McQueen seeks out a new mentor. Yet, the beautiful and detailed animation, combined with the welcome return to the grit of the race track, cannot save Cars 3 from mediocrity. It's essentially an existential exploration of midlife crisis, chocked full of childish humour and wrapped up in a sports movie formula, so it's difficult to work out just who the target audience is. It wisely makes a point of dodging genre cliches with an interesting climax, but the lack of character investment (McQueen has always been the blandest of Pixar's heroes) means that this doesn't pay off as well as it should. Like its racers, the Cars franchise seems to be stuck in an eternal loop without anywhere to go.


Directed by: Brian Fee
Voices: Owen Wilson, Cristela Alonzo, Chris Cooper, Nathan Fillion, Larry the Cable Guy, Armie Hammer, Tony Shalhoub, Bonnie Hunt
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,265: 'Cars 2' (2011)

Pixar's Cars is now remembered as one of the great studio's rare misfires; a formulaic animated movie that had far more to offer to the children in the audience than to the adults paying for them to be there (although I think it's one of their most misunderstood movies and well worth a re-visit). Despite this, it was a box-office smash and a dream in terms of merchandising. A few years ago, Pixar may have thought twice about extending the story of Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) and the town of Radiator Springs without having something new to say, but ever since Disney took over, they've taken a more relaxed attitude towards bending to audience demand and churning out an underdeveloped and unworthy sequel. The result is Cars 2, a mess of a movie with an absence of any real laughs that feels like a straight-to-DVD short stretched out over 106 minutes.

Now a four-time Piston Cup champion, the world-famous Lightning McQueen returns to Radiator Springs to see his old friends, much to the delight of best chum Mater (Larry the Cable Guy). However, formula champion Francesco Bernoulli (John Turturro) challenges McQueen to join him in the World Grand Prix, an event created by Sir Miles Axelrod (Eddie Izzard) to advertise his new fuel Allinol. McQueen, along with Mater, Luigi (Tony Shalhoub), Guido (Guido Quaroni), Fillmore (Lloyd Sherr) and Sarge (Paul Dooley), heads to Tokyo, where Mater's buffoonish behaviour starts to grate on the racing star. Meanwhile, weapons designer Professor Zundapp (Thomas Kretschmann) and his cronies are taking out cars using an electromagnetic pulse in an attempt to scupper Axelrod's plans and secure oil profits. This catches the attention of international super-spy Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) and his partner Holley Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer), who mistake Mater for a fellow spy and hire the clueless tow truck to help with their mission.

This may sound like a bold move for a franchise built on low-key themes of friendship and humility around a traditional fish-out-of-water story, and Cars 2 fleetingly captures the imagination as McMissile swings onto an enemy oil rig, gadgets at the ready. But this is no longer Lightning McQueen's story. Instead, they push Mater, the comic relief best served in tiny doses, front and centre. Not only do his shenanigans increasingly annoy, they are also painfully unfunny. Many of the memorable supporting cast from the first movie are either heavily sidelined or given the boot altogether, and the story is so disjointed that it's difficult to keep up with the endless roster of forgettable, newly-introduced characters. Kids will love it though, and that's all that really matters when it comes to box-office receipts. There's enough colour, slapstick and racing action to keep them  on their seats, and the animation again is truly wonderful. While this may get a pass if released by Dreamworks, mediocrity never used to be on Pixar's radar, and the high standards are still expected. One need only look at their Toy Story trilogy to see how inspired their sequels can be, which makes the middling antics of Cars 2 all the more crushing.


Directed by: John Lasseter
Voices: Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Eddie Izzard, John Turturro, Thomas Kretschmann, Bonnie Hunt
Country: USA

Rating: **

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,266: 'Cars' (2006)

Ever since Pixar first wowed cinema-going audiences across the globe with their feature-length debut Toy Story, the company has become the standard for cinematic excellence. Not only for their constantly groundbreaking animation and ability to entertain both children and adults alike, but for the quality of their scripts and the amount of genuine heart that pours out of them. Yet for every WALL-E, The Incredibles or Inside Out there's always a Monsters University, A Bug's Life or Brave. These films still get a pass because, after all, "it's only a kid's movie," but the disappointment is all the more crushing with the knowledge of Pixar's capabilities. Cars is firmly in the latter category, falling into the traps of a familiar plot and a script that isn't quite up to scratch.

Cars' reputation has been damaged ever further in the decade since its release, and this is no doubt thanks to the lazy and bitter-tasting sequels and spin-offs, something the company has churned out at an increasing rate ever since Disney took over. I must admit that I didn't think much of Cars back in 2005. It lacked excitement and a character to really root for, and the story of a cocky upstart learning learning a valuable lesson to change their outlook on the world can be seen in countless other children's movies. However, on my second viewing I found moments of tenderness between the cracks, an old-fashioned romanticism to really warm the heart. The movie is about more than a young race car named Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) and his quest to escape the forgotten town of Radiator Spings to reach the Piston Cup. It's also about the changing face of America and the way its capitalist nature is leaving the little guys behind.

One aspect of Cars that was never criticised was its cutting-edge animation, and the way it brought the loud, dangerous world of racing and the country's glorious landscapes to beautiful life. It is still utterly glorious to look at, whether it be a wide shot of a darkening horizon or a close-up of buck-toothed tow truck Mater (Larry the Cable Guy). The small town off Route 66 is full of other colourful archetypes, voiced by the likes of Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, Tony Shalhoub, Cheech Marin and George Carlin. The problems I had with the film the first time around are still present - the climax should be a lump-in-the-throat moment but is oddly devoid of emotion, and the film offers no surprises at all - but they just didn't seem to bother me as much. The hefty running-time (just shy of 2 hours) also whizzed by, despite the lack of genuine laugh-out-loud moments. So forget Cars 2, Planes and those awful-looking straight-to-DVD spin-offs you ignore in Tesco, and give Cars another chance.


Directed by: John Lasseter
Voices: Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, Larry the Cable Guy, Cheech Marin, Tony Shalhoub, George Carlin, Michael Keaton
Country: USA

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie