A new breed of race cars are barging onto the scene, and Lightning just can't keep up. He goes soul searching, and ends up at a training facility - where he's treated like an old car, but gets to the beach and starts teaching his trainer how to race. That doesn't cut it though, so he goes off searching for Doc Hudson's teacher, but that doesn't help either...
It feels like the characters aren't in character this time around, and it's weird to see Lightning as 'old', especially when he doesn't look the part. Reading a description for this movie I was expecting there might be some technical improvements available to let him boost his game a bit, but the only one they really introduce is a phone.
We never do learn what happened to Doc Hudson either. After the first movie he is suddenly just taken out of the frame - but now he's back! Sort of. In refurbished flashbacks both old and new, and there's an entire veteran crew that seem led by what seems to the same voice actor.
The second movie might have deviated from the path of the original a bit, but even though this one goes back to origins in a way... I'm not at all happy with the way it goes. In a strange way it feels like it deviates even more than the second - spy stuff and all, and maybe that's because Lightning is no longer the main racer. Even with Mater a main focus in the last movie he was still very much a part of the show, and I don't like how they make it seem like the second movie didn't even happen - I mean where is Holley Shiftwell? Mater's dating a truck now? And what happened to the revolution of renewable energy that started where the last movie left off? That could've been something to build upon.
I don't like age, I guess. Nor do Ilike the star of the show out of the picture, and his replacement not even properly introduced. Most of all I don't like inconsistencies.
The animation's definitely on a whole new level now compared to the previous two. Sceneries in particular sometimes seem so real I wonder if they are... and the movie was intense, but I just can't place it on the same pedestal as the first two after all.
It's not just about the retirement thing. It feels like a forced sequel and unworthy end, much missing the magic of the earlier two.
rated 3/5: not bad
