A jumpy ride

Johnson Thomas

Disney/Pixar’s Cars 3 literally runs on empty(in creative originality). The narrative has lightening training like rocky and haunting the dirt tracks and wooded forests in order to pick-up speed. And like what happens to the former champion racer in the film, everything seems a little too jaded and seen-before to lead-up to interesting or entertaining. His return-to-roots endeavour appears to be just another gamble to resurrect interest in the form of Paul Newman as Doc Hudson, while the training in the forests montage played against Storm’s swanky indoor facility training routine, borrows from "Rocky IV," and that too quite unambiguously.  

The film is amiable but there’s just a little too much of sameness for it to be entertaining. The only difference here is the manner in which the inevitable happy ending is played out. Unfortunately, by then, you are too turned off to be excited. The torch-bearer appears to change with every sequel and this one too enlists a new champion for its next season outage. The adding of a female car in the competition line-up is a welcome integration and raises the flag for a female empowered sequel where the female car is shown as equally capable and does not need the advantage of privileges or reservation.

Of course, it’s a given that she has to go through the brittle glass ceiling before she can prove her worth. The animation, colour coding and technical credits are of the top order that Pixar is known for. The humour is literally non-existent here and that’s a killer for the enjoyment. This film is unlikely to sustain the long haul in the theatres because there’s precious little originality powering it!