Cars 3

Pixar has been the staple of quality in Hollywood for nearly two decades. However, their recent foray into sequels has seen a slump in recent outings like Monster’s University, Finding Dory, and Cars 2. The latter title has spawned a third film, which is the laziest film Pixar has made to date.

Cars 3 revisits a now honed Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) who is the veteran in the racetracks. A new model of racing cars led by Jackson Storm (Armie Hammer) is leaving McQueen and his generation in the dust. In an attempt to stamp down the rookies and scrap any retirement rumors, McQueen goes on a soul-searching journey with his new trainer Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo).

The premise for this film seemed to be intriguing enough: the passing of the torch between generations. But the objective and philosophy that the film is trying to pass on gets incredibly muddled and the entire story gets completely off track. All of a sudden the film is a tribute to Doc Hudson (voiced by Paul Newman in the first film), and then there’s an attempt of bringing a feminine voice into the racecar world; but the entwining messages trip each other up so that we end up getting an empty product.

Then there was the character of Cruz, who is a character with good potential, but who was shoved down our throats in this film. With the incredible array of characters Car already has, why not fish out of that pool and leave Cruz to grow unrushed.

Another good thing Pixar is known for is it’s original humor for parents; it was something even the afore mentioned Monster’s University and Finding Dory had in large amounts. But in Cars 3 we’re given a droning, overdramatic, and preachy tone that had the parents falling asleep and the children jumping around their seats trying to entertain themselves with something else.

I can’t put it any other way: Cars 3 is the worst thing to have come out of Pixar. It was unfunny, boring, and a lazy attempt to cash in on the merchandise the film will sprout. Let’s hope Pixar’s slump doesn’t signal an infection of sequliti; Hollywood has enough of that on its own.

4.3/10