2017 Summer Movie Season - Cars 3: Review & Analysis

   

      Back on Track!!! Third Cars Film Delivers Fun and Grounded Sequel!!!! 

      Review By Brandon porter                                         

McQueen is Fading!!! Fading Fast!!!

Story Description

Ever since his rookie season, Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) rise to fame has been historical. From a fast moving cocky hotshot to a grounded and humble racer, McQueen has established a legacy others can only dream of. But as great as he is, the landscape of the racing world has changed with more advanced and faster competitors becoming the face of the racing league like rookie sensation Jackson Storm (Armie Hammer). Not ready to call it quits despite the progression of the sport, Lightning must battle time, age, and the next generation of racers and prove to the world and himself that their is still plenty of time left on the clock for one of the Greatest.

Lightning Trains With His Partner Cruz Ramirez

Critical and Financial Analysis

The Cars franchise has been one of the biggest assets for Pixar Animation Studios. While it has indeed been the studio's most marketable series, it also holds the less than positive honor of representing a rare low point for the studio as the second installment garnered the studio's first ever negative receptive rating from both critics and fans. Cars 3 looks to return to the essence of the original and cap the trilogy off on a high note. Critically, this film fared better than its predecessor. Cars 3 scored a satisfyingly decent critical rating of 66% via rotten tomatoes with a strong audience rating of 80% to back it up. The film was praised for being surprisingly poignant and by the book in a superior sequel that really captures the magic of the first. Financially, Cars 3 topped the box office with a $53.5 million dollar total domestically with an additional $21.3 million oversees. The latest iteration of the cars series was met with better reception than its prvious entry making for a satisfying conclusion to the cinematic aspect of the franchise.

Race Training Ain't What It Used To Be

Film Review

It is hard to believe that at one point, Pixar was looked at as potentially losing their mojo after the universal backlash of Cars 2. Since than, the studio looks to be getting back to prominence with their recent films garnering acclaim from fans and critics. Cars 3 sees the return of Pixar's biggest franchise in a chapter that is more grounded and focused than its predecessor. After seeing the movie, I'm thrilled to say that the cars franchise is back on track with a more than praise worthy sequel. With such an unorthodox and unfocused narrative that was a the center of Cars 2, the way Cars 3 starts out lets the audience know that it is back to its old self again. The film essentially returns to its roots by making the main focus of the story on racing and on Lightning McQueen. Even though aspects of the series are still there particularly Mater, there are back where they should allowing the film to be more focused and less distracting. The movie also benefits from a more grounded tone which is refreshing knowing the Cars franchise has not been on this particular "road". From the jump, the movie starts out super fun and the overall essence in the scene just feels like this is what a Cars movie should feel like. The chracters also take center stage in this film in a big way. Lightning McQueen shines in the film as he finds himself in the same postion as his mentor and crew chief Doc Hudson. With the sport changing around him, he is determined to not to succumb to the pressure of hanging up his tires. His story is the most engaging its been since Cars 1 and its nice to see his story come full circle. But the character that really stole the show was Cruz Ramirez. I loved this character's personality and heart which shown even more as the movie gets deeper into her backstory making her a likable character you love rooting for. It is truly wonderful to see the series introduce a funny, fierce, and overall great female lead character in such memorable fashion. As I said earlier, the film focuses on the racing instead of the unnecessary things like espionage and crime. It allows the movie to tell a great story without coming off as and obvious advertisement for merchandise. In the end, Cars 3 is the perfect way to cap off this wildly popular franchise that has been as much of a classic franchise as Toy Story, or Monsters Inc. Its a fun and heartwarming experience that caps of the trilogy in photo finish fashion. 

Rating and Final Thoughts

Fun, narratively focused, and poignant, Cars 3 is a Praise Worthy Sequel that delvers on comedy, emotion,

and a winning spirit.

A Legend Then, Now, and Forever!!!! KA-CHOW!!!