Film Preview: Cars 3 (2017)

Page Revisions:

(November 27, 2016) Original
(January 8, 2017) New Trailer (#2) / New Posters (#1-#2)
(January 29, 2017) New Trailer (#3)
(March 5, 2017) New Trailer (#4)
(May 14, 2017) New Trailer (#5) / New Posters (#3-#9)
(June 11, 2017) New Trailer (#6) / New Posters (#10-#12)

Release Date:

June 16, 2017

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “Lightning McQueen sets out to prove to a new generation of racers that he’s still the best race car in the world.”

Poster Rating: B / B+ / B- / B- (2) / B / B / B / C / C (3)

SEE ALL POSTERS BELOW
Review: (#1) A nice, photorealistic design that should cause fans of both the films and the actual subjects to become excited. (#2) Another strong design with plenty of interesting details to make you wonder just what kind of movie you’re in for, which is just the kind of intrigue the studio wants.

(#3) This seaside race scene has plenty of detail and action and that’s all it really needs to sell the movie. (#4-#5) This pair of face-off posters establish two different settings within the film and two different competitions, both on the track and off of it. That’s an interesting way to look at the film. (#6) The studio has created plenty of action designs that are set on various “tracks” and each of them give us a lot of foreground and background details, which is pleasant to see in film posters, especially when not excessive. (#7) This posters isn’t too different from the prior, which means it’s a satisfying design. (#8) Taking us back to the locale of the original: the American west. It’s a gorgeous reference to the original while modernizing its appearance. (#9) After so many strong designs, it was only a matter of time before we got a weak one and this is certainly it. No detail. No excitement. It’s just a face-off that doesn’t create any sense of interest in the viewer.

(#10-#12) Three characters from the film each get their own character posters with slightly different settings, but blend together almost immediately. Like the other posters for this film, the minimalist approach isn’t that interesting.

Trailer Rating: B / D+ / B / B- / B / C

SEE ALL TRAILERS BELOW
Review: (#1) What a tease this is. Are we going to get a wholly new art style with this third Cars outing or is it going to reveal the whole thing as a fantasy within the mind of a real NASCAR driver? The possibilities are endless. However, after the Planes and Cars 2 fiascos, there isn’t a lot of hope left.

(#2) Three short teasers that feature the various cars, new and old, revving up and speeding away. The lack of creativity between the three segments doesn’t give one much hope.

(#3) The intensity of the first trailer combined with some ideas of what the film’s plot will be, give one hope that a return to the original’s charm and down-home appeal might be in the offing.

(#4) We get a better glimpse of the film’s premise in this trailer that we didn’t get in previous ones. While there is still the same photo-realistic elements to the film, it also has all the animated connective tissue to the original films, which might not be a good thing.

(#5) The final trailer (hopefully) before the film’s release gives us most of the story points and establishes a movie that feels like it stands well against the original while forging a new path, all without feeling like a radical departure (as the second film was).

(#6) The song for the trailer “Take It to the Limit” is fitting, but tonally out of place in this action-light, modestly introspective trailer. While the studio is trying to sell this as a film about a has-been searching for relevance, somewhat reminiscent of the relationship McQueen had with Hudson in the first film, it doesn’t quite have the narrative oomph we expect based on this trailer.

Oscar Prospects:

Sequels don’t do well at the Oscars in the Best Animated Feature category; however, if the film really is a reinvention of itself, then it’s possible it could be a player.