Don't get me wrong, the first one is really good. It kept the Pixar ball rolling with all their releases either being really good or instant classics.
Then Cars 2 went down a path that they would quickly regret. They decided to focus more on the character of Mater. Yes he was popular by certain demographics. But it was safer to keep him as a side character, instead of the main vocal point. The film itself is a perfectly passable animation. But for Pixar's high standards, this will just not do.
With Cars 3, we seem to be finally back on track by going with a proper follow-up to the first installment. Now that I've seen it, I felt that is what we got with a few unexpected surprises.
It opens up with some decent racing action, and it has a pretty predictable story line. However, there were surprising amounts of slow and dull scenes that could lose the kids attention spans early on.
Then the second act went into nostalgia mode, which I really liked. It paid great homage to a character that many people have been wanting to see again.
Then the finale gave me something that I think many others will not expect. It was ballsy, risky, and for me I think they pulled it off nicely. I'm not sure if some younger viewers will like it. But I think it is what the franchise may need if it is going to continue.
The animations as usual is great. It is only a matter of time, before Pixar makes something that makes us questioning if we're watching an animation of live-action.
The racing scenes are as thrilling as they've ever been. The way they are executed made it exciting and gripping.
From a story-telling aspect, I liked most of the new characters, and I liked the route of nostalgia they went down. I am glad to see they went back to their roots, and it felt like a proper direct sequel.
But from telling an actual story, it seemed to lack that strong structure that Pixar is well known for doing. It felt too generic, and in the end became unmemorable. But I will give them credit for their risky pay-off.
They certainly sorted the problems the fans had with Cars 2. Now after seeing this newest addition, you can pretty much skip to the sequel, and head straight to part three.
While the ending now makes me interested to see where this franchise goes next, the film itself is solid. It's fairly entertaining and it gives enough screen-time and story development to the characters the fans wanted to see. But its somewhat generic story line puts this towards the bottom of Pixar's back catalogue, and the most of the gags fell flat. Thankfully, it's better than Cars 2 and as for animation films that have been released this year, it's above average.
I think their main demographic i.e. young kids, will probably find the majority of it fairly slow and boring.
There is a post credits scene. But it doesn't really amount to much. So unless, you want to be ahead of the game, then this is probably not worth waiting for.
Rating: 7/10
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