FILM REVIEW - Cars
By The Masked Medic
I hope that you guys enjoyed the very productive July that this website had. I had been starving you all of my views for a while. Unfortunately, that starvation is likely to return as I’m now preparing for, hopefully, what is going to be my last question-based exam. That being said, I will need breaks, and I’ll try to use that time to watch and read some quality stuff. For today’s review, we’re returning to a Pixar classic!
‘Cars’ is set in a world where the cars and other vehicles are sentient, and there are no humans. The film focuses on Lightning McQueen, a racecar who is looking to win a famous championship, the Piston Cup, in his first season racing. He’s up against legendary veteran The King, and also slightly douche-y Chick Hicks. During the last race of the season, there ends up being a three-way tie between them, and it’s deemed that they need a final race to decide the winner. However, whilst being transported in his trailer to California, he is accidentally released onto the highway, and he ends up in a small town called Radiator Springs, where he is chased by the Sheriff and in the ensuing chaos, he destroys the road. Although the chief of the town, Doc Hudson, wants Lightning to leave, Sally, the owner of the town motel, who was previously a hotshot lawyer, convinces Doc to make Lightning repair the road. Lightning continues to complain that his punishment is unfair, and so when Doc offers Lightning a chance to leave if he can beat him in a race, Lightning accepts, unaware of Doc’s mysterious past. Lightning is quickly humbled, but as he slowly repairs the road in this slow town, he begins to fall in love and questions if the fast life is still for him. Will Lightning ever have a chance to leave Radiator Springs? And will he ever win a Piston Cup?
So the voice cast of this film is extremely extensive, and there’s no way I’ll be able to cover them all. But we should definitely speak about the leads and highlights. Lightning McQueen is played by Owen Wilson (wow), and I’ll be honest, I almost can’t put the voice and actor together. Despite Wilson having a very distinct voice, it’s almost as if it is lost in the animation. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a good performance. Wilson delivers some pretty iconic lines, and his humour certainly translates through. Playing Sally, the sassy Porsche is Bonnie Hunt. Hunt, I know from one of the most iconic films of my childhood, Jumanji, and again, despite her having a distinct voice, I didn’t put two and two together. Two key characters I want to talk about are Mater and Doc Hudson. Mater was played by Larry the Cable Guy, who, I’ve been informed by the questionably omniscient Wikipedia, is a famous stand-up comedian in the US. Mater has arguably some of the funniest lines in the film, and he’s an excellent character to watch. Doc Hudson was played by legendary Hollywood veteran Paul Newman. Hudson is my favourite character in the film, and although I’ve not watched anything else Newman was in, I can recognise how much of a big deal it was that they had him in the cast. Finally, I have to mention this, because it cracked me up, but Chick Hicks is played by Michael Keaton, and now I can never look at Chick in the same way. Hilarious voice acting!
I’ve seen this film before, and although the love that I have for some other Pixar films is greater, I have to say, Cars is a fantastic watch. In a world where it’s become so normalised to chase fame and fortune, Cars shows that sometimes it’s okay to step away and live a quiet life. As a kid, I watched it relating to Lightning’s desire to be a champion, but now with some age and wisdom, I related more to his desire to be in Radiator Springs. Perhaps that’s why I enjoyed it so much. Although it’s an odd concept, a world where Cars are sentient, it’s also the kind of thing that Pixar does so well. There’s a decent amount of character development, but if I had to criticise, I’d say that the supporting cast could have done with more insight into their lives. At the time, I’m not sure they knew if it was going to receive a sequel, let alone a threequel, so I can’t say that they were saving it for future instalments!
Finally, the cinematography. Pixar have done excellent work in creating this world, and there were so many parts that made me chuckle, eg, all the cars piling into the stadium to watch more cars race? What a ridiculous concept, but one that is animated perfectly. The facial expressions of the vehicles were also done very well, so you could see their differing emotions. The soundtrack was also great, lots of songs clearly inspired by the American love of driving, haha! Overall, Cars was a far more enjoyable movie to watch than when I first saw it. I’m sure I’ll get to the sequels at some point, but for today, nostalgia was ripe!
Rating:
Story: ★★★
Voice Acting: ★★★
Cinematography: ★★★½
Music: ★★★½
Enjoyability: ★★★½