It’s not over till it’s over.

Racing champion Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) returns in Cars 3 to continue racing. To his surprise, a new generation of racing cars starts to emerge making him the odd one out. He reaches the point where his racing colleagues start to retire and be replaced by newer and better models. Yet he insists on staying in the game. A bitter realization comes after getting into an accident during a race with the rookie-turned-rival, Jackson Storm (Armie Hammer). Soon after his rehabilitation in Radiator Springs and after getting some motivation from his friends, McQueen regained his confidence to continue racing.

Out with the old, in with the new.

He did this still with Rust-eze but under the management of Sterling (Nathan Fillon). Sterling promised him that he would soon be back on the racetracks but after undergoing rehabilitation. Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo) trained McQueen to be back in his old form and to even be better than he was before the crash.

Cars 3 remains to be the odd one out in the entire Disney/Pixar line-up. While the better-known titles such Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and Up pack great and engaging storylines, this franchise, however, has a huge contrast. It simply does not feel Pixar enough. Sure, Cars was a smart and moving title but the succeeding movies in the franchise simply felt unnecessary.

Going meta

One can argue that the studio churns out sequels and even spin-off of the franchise because they sell. True enough but this latest installment gives off a vibe that it was made simply for that. The story is uninspired and unoriginal. It is not bad bad as Cars 2, though.

Cars 3 tries to be inspirational and to remind everyone not to give up on their dreams. And succeed in it, it did. The film may not be memorable but it delivered a positive message especially to women that they can do what men do. Funny thing, though is that Cars 3 sounded meta with the team working on it trying to stay relevant. At the plot’s core is knowing when to stop and it registered like the franchise saying it to the studio themselves.

Director: Brian Fee
Cast: Owen Wilson, Armie Hammer, Nathan Fillon, and Cristela Alonzo

Binge-level: 3 out of 5 stars.

Cars 3 opens across the Philippines on Weds, July 26.

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