Lightning Queen has a lot of miles on the clock — but don’t rule the old pro out of the race just yet

REVIEW: Cars 3 puts the unpopular, flashy middle movie squarely in its rear view mirror in this highly polished Pixar fable.

CARS 3

Three stars

Director Brian Fee

Starring Owen Wilson, Cristela Alonzo, Chris Cooper

Rating G

Running time 109 minutes

Verdict Classic model, full tank

FOR a hot-shot race car, Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) has an awful lot of miles on the clock.

After 10 gruelling years on the circuit, it’s little wonder that he’s showing signs of wear and tear.

Pixar’s screenwriters address their leading man’s challenges directly in this highly-polished three-quel, which runs like a well-maintained classic.

But there’s no disguising the fact that as a franchise, Cars 3 has reached the end of its road.

When the film opens, our ageing hero is blindsided by a technologically-advanced fast car named Jackson Storm (Armie Hammer) who trains on a simulator and races like, well, a machine.

Lightning McQueen returns in Cars 3 but is showing predictable signs of age. Picture: Disney-Pixar

Determined to get back in the game, McQueen employs the services of an irrepressible young trainer named Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo).

After denting more than his pride in a sobering encounter with the new technology, McQueen goes rogue — teaching Ramirez about the finer points of off-track racing along the way.

His methods are old school and so is the storytelling, which is what ultimately saves Cars 3.

The relationship between the fading legend and Ramirez echoes that of McQueen and his grizzled mentor Doc Hudson, played by the late Paul Newman and recalled here in flashback.

The difference, and it’s an organic one, relates to gender.

Unlike her cocky, supercharged offsider, the one thing Ramirez lacks is self-belief.

Their relationship develops naturally, at an unhurried pace. And it has all the requisite elements for a satisfying pay-off.

Jackson Storm (voiced by Armie Hammer) is the next generation that is threatening Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson). Picture: Disney-Pixar

There are cameo appearances by Mater (Larry the Cable Guy), Sally (Bonnie Hunt), Luigi (Tony Shalhoub) and the rest of the McQueen’s wonderfully dysfunctional gang back at Radiator Springs.

And a fun sequence in which McQueen turns up to race, incognito, at a rundown track called Thunder Hollow — only to discover that it’s been turned into a demolition derby dominated by a destructive school bus named Miss Fritter (Lea DeLaria.)

The dust bowl tavern at which Doc’s crusty repair truck (Chris Cooper) and fellow racers relive their past glories is a personal favourite — although I am not sure how younger audiences will feel about the old-timers’ reminiscences.

Returning to the iconic, backroads nostalgia of the original film, Cars 3 puts the flashy, unpopular middle film squarely in its rear vision mirror.

The route the filmmakers take might be familiar, but after gunning it, they take the corners like pros.

Cars 3 is now showing (opens June 22).

Originally published as Lightning Queen has a lot of miles on the clock — but don’t rule the old pro out of the race just yet