Cars 3
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | Release Date: June 16, 2017 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
59
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 41 Critic Reviews
Positive:
21
Mixed:
19
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
The PlaylistDrew TaylorJun 12, 2017
The main thing you’ll feel from Cars 3 is joy; this is Pixar at its most radiant and playful. Read full review
88
The Seattle TimesSoren AndersenJun 13, 2017
Solid storytelling, a longtime strength of the best Pixar pictures, elevates Cars 3 into the pantheon with the studio’s finest. Read full review
83
IndieWireEric KohnJun 12, 2017
Considering that it’s a second sequel in a less-than-revered franchise, it’s a minor miracle that Cars 3 hits the finish line with a fresh sense of purpose. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranJun 15, 2017
This warmly sentimental G-rated film about facing new realities and recapturing lost dreams has, despite its relatively adult story line, a beguilingly effortless feeling to it, as if it had nothing to prove. Read full review
80
The New York TimesGlenn KennyJun 14, 2017
If you can roll with it, the movie is both breezy fun and a pain-free life lesson delivery vehicle Read full review
78
IGNEric GoldmanJun 12, 2017
While it feels like it could use a more nuanced antagonist and is hit or miss in the comedy realm, there’s a nice sense of closure here, too, which would make this a perfect and redemptive beat to end the story on – both for the characters and the franchise as a whole. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJun 16, 2017
The final chapter of the trilogy has saved the best for last and will at least deflect the most serious concerns of those who think this series has taken too many extra laps. Read full review
75
Rolling StoneDavid FearJun 14, 2017
The result is inspiring, which isn't something you associate with this series. Read full review
75
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallJun 14, 2017
Cars 3 is a better time at the movies than Cars 2 led me to expect. Not exactly ringing praise but we take amusement from sequels where we can get it these days. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperJun 13, 2017
Cars 3 is a lovely, clever and entertaining generational tale with tons of heart, a simple and effective storyline, wonderful candy-colored visuals and winning voice work from the talented cast of returning regulars and welcome newcomers. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBarbara VanDenburghJun 14, 2017
Cars 3 doesn’t have enough velocity to escape that lesser tier. It does, however, offer a course correction for the franchise with a kinetic and emotionally resonant sports film that’s big on character – and blessedly light on Mater. Read full review
70
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlJun 13, 2017
The thoughtful, thrilling finale retroactively complicates and improves much of the film that it caps, and it left me thinking something else impossible: I’d kind of like to see what happens in Cars 4. Read full review
70
ScreenCrushMatt SingerJun 12, 2017
While this movie may not reach the heights of Pixar’s finest achievements, it certainly stands as not only the best Cars, but the most mature one as well. Read full review
70
VarietyOwen GleibermanJun 12, 2017
Cars 3 is a friendly, rollicking movie made with warmth and dash, and to the extent that it taps our primal affection for this series, it more than gets the job done. Read full review
67
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerJun 16, 2017
So how good/bad is Cars 3? If we’re talking Pixar threepeats here, it’s certainly no “Toy Story 3.” Instead, it’s a reasonably diverting, somewhat sluggish attempt to reinstall the “heart” of the first installment. Read full review
67
ConsequenceDominick Suzanne-MayerJun 13, 2017
It’s a movie made of brief chuckles and obvious but well-meaning lessons, and if it lacks the grander ambition of some of the studio’s best and most memorable work, it’s still an enjoyable watch. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattJun 12, 2017
Fee steers Cars 3 like the sleek piece of movie machinery it is—a standard ride with a half-full tank, a gorgeous paint job, and not much at all under the hood. Read full review
63
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanJun 15, 2017
There isn’t quite as much pep to the film’s narrative engine on this trip. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzJun 15, 2017
Despite its lack of originality, as well as its lackadaisical storytelling and world building, it satisfies in that amiably weird way that only a "Cars" film can. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeMark FeeneyJun 14, 2017
This is the rare movie that might benefit from silence. Partly that’s because of the squeezed syrup of Randy Newman’s score. Read full review
63
USA TodayBrian TruittJun 12, 2017
Cars 3 at least tries to put a little extra in the tank this time around. Read full review
60
EmpireJames WhiteJul 17, 2017
By driving back to the core homespun wisdom of Cars, the third film is a course correct from the second. But this is still not vintage Pixar. Read full review
60
Total FilmNeil SmithJul 17, 2017
Pixar’s least essential franchise gets back on track with a polished but disposable threequel. Read full review
60
Time OutEllie Walker-ArnottJun 16, 2017
It’s all well and good for the under-12s, but this movie never packs the kind of emotional punch we know Pixar is capable of. Read full review
60
We Got This CoveredBernard BooJun 15, 2017
Cars 3 isn’t remarkable or groundbreaking or even all that memorable, but it’s a rock-solid movie that leaves a far better taste in the mouth than its critically panned predecessors. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterMichael RechtshaffenJun 12, 2017
While visually dynamic, Lightning McQueen’s newest challenge still feels out of alignment with a languid end result that lacks sufficient forward momentum. Read full review
60
VoxEmily VanDerWerffJun 12, 2017
Like all Pixar movies, Cars 3 is gorgeous...but like most of the studio’s 2010s output, its storytelling is perhaps too complicated to really register. The movie is constantly trying to outmaneuver itself, leading to a film that’s pleasant but not much more. Read full review
55
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeJun 12, 2017
As a spawner of merchandise, Cars 3 fires on all pistons but, as a movie, it’s a harmless but never stimulating 109 minutes. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kate TaylorJun 15, 2017
The car-as-human idea was never Pixar’s biggest brain wave and as Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) hits the track for a third outing, the Disney animated franchise is running on fumes. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJun 14, 2017
Intermittently entertaining. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsStephen Whitty Jun 14, 2017
There’s a new “Cars” pulling into theaters, but the series is out of gas. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsJun 14, 2017
Cars 3, a reasonably diverting account of middle-aged pity, humiliation and suffering as experienced by Rust-eze-sponsored race car Lightning McQueen, is not the weakest of the Disney/Pixar sequels (I’d vote “Cars 2” or “Monsters University,” those sour, desperate things). But it’s by far the most guilt-ridden. Read full review
50
Paste MagazineTim GriersonJun 14, 2017
For the first time in its storied history, a Pixar movie feels like a straight-to-DVD entry: undemanding, mildly amusing, utterly disposable. Read full review
50
SlateSam AdamsJun 14, 2017
Cars 3 is still lower-tier Pixar. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Jun 13, 2017
The best thing that can be said about Cars 3, the studio’s dispiritingly formulaic return to a world of talking jalopies, is that it isn’t another feature-length showcase for the limited comedic stylings of Larry The Cable Guy. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineKeith WatsonJun 13, 2017
Cars 3 doesn't seem to care about defining the contours of its universe or exploring the possibilities of an all-car world. Read full review
50
Screen DailyTim GriersonJun 12, 2017
Pixar’s latest boasts the company’s reliably cheerful disposition and gorgeous visuals, but otherwise this meandering, pedestrian affair is never particularly funny or poignant — the hallmarks that once made this studio the gold standard for Hollywood animation. Read full review
42
The Film StageJared MobarakJun 16, 2017
While the intent for gender equality is welcome, the execution subverts that goal. Read full review
40
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternJun 15, 2017
The first film wasn’t bad, though it had its lapses. “Cars 2,” an aberration, was readily forgotten. This one feels like the series, at the end of the road, is running on fumes of nostalgia for its earliest self. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovJun 14, 2017
This is an interesting/odd take on the Cars universe, seeing as how this is a movie squarely aimed at pre-teens who likely have no concept of aging, let alone four-wheeled mortality, or for that matter Joseph Campbell’s monomythic “Hero’s Journey.” Read full review
25
Movie NationRoger MooreJun 16, 2017
Cars 3 surpasses “Monster University” as the dullest, dimmest Pixar movie ever. Read full review
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