Cars 3 – 4.5/5 stars
The 18th Pixar film and only second to mark a trilogy following the Toy Story franchise, Cars 3 sees the return of legendary race car ‘Lightning McQueen’ for an all new adventure with an important message hidden within. It’s six years since we last saw him.
Owen Wilson again reprises his iconic voice role in a fun, beautiful looking film which turns full circle in the way it harkens back to the first, offering up plenty of real life realities for parents to ponder as kids sit back and become dazzled by first class animation.
Pushed out of the sport he loves with the emergence of younger, faster new generation race cars, the out-modelled Lightning McQueen becomes desperate to prove he’s still the best racer in the world, and reclaim his status from the clutches of new rookies like Jackson Storm.
Teaming up with an eager young race technician named Cruz and drawing inspiration from his late mentor, the Fabulous Hudson Hornet, Lightning trains hard to get back in the game with the support of girlfriend Sally and best friend Mater. His never-quit attitude shows the world he may be one of the oldest race cars, but #95 still has plenty of fuel left in the tank.
Changing the tyres on the franchise by disregarding completely the universally un-liked Cars 2 and instead focusing on what made the 2006 original a smash hit, the return of racing and it being the reason for Lightning’s existence help steer what seems to be the final chapter in this series to a satisfying conclusion. It feels like a poignant metaphor about recapturing lost dreams and the reality behind growing old in a new modern world.
Featuring the return of the late Paul Newman by way of unused voice recordings from the first film and a new paint job for Lightning McQueen – Cars 3. While it’s far from the best of Pixar’s back catalogue, it still serves its purpose as an entertaining kids flick. With its Rocky inspired premise and gorgeous visuals, it’s the perfect excuse to see the gang together again in an ideal family film.
The Mummy – 4/5 stars
The first of Universal Pictures’ newly established ‘Dark Universe’ film series, and nothing to do with the Brendan Fraser films that came before, The Mummy stars Tom Cruise and Sofia Boutella in a fresh take on a familiar tale. Well worth a watch and definitely a lot better than the unfair reports you may have heard.
After solider-of-fortune Nick Morton (Cruise) accidentally discovers the tomb of ancient princess Ahmanet (Boutella) and becomes the subject of a curse when awakening a vengeful threat hell bent on mummifying everyone and taking the world for herself, archaeologist Jenny (Annabelle Wallis) and Dr Henry Jekyll (Russell Crowe) team together with Nick to unravel a centuries old mystery, defeat an army of un-dead creatures and hopefully break the curse before it’s too late, travelling the sweeping sands of the Middle East to underground London.
With excellent production design, visual effects and thrilling action sequences all tying in well with Cruise’s desire to once again go big with death-defying stunts in a zero gravity scene involving a plummeting plane, Cruise gives a dedicated performance here, proving his long standing status as one of the most prolific movie stars of all time. Teamed well with Boutella as the first ever female mummy to light up the screen, continuing her reign of bad-ass femme fatale characters after Kingsman and Star Trek Beyond, Wallis also shows us she’s a name to watch out for. Crowe brings the goods as the iconic split personality of Jekyll & Hyde, cool in its own right for a scene involving himself and Cruise going toe to toe.
Doing exactly what it was designed to do by setting up a new franchise, this may not be the greatest film about monsters, but it sure is a fun one nonetheless. With an all over the place screenplay and a less humorous approach attributing to why this maybe isn’t performing as was expected, the charismatic Tom Cruise and an entertaining plot are more than enough to warrant a viewing.
