Flutterby™! : Cars

Charlene and I just got back from seeing Cars. The visuals are stunning, and I expect that this is the last computer generated film that I'll call out for the quality of the graphics, because several of the shots were so detailed that this is also the last film that I can see ogling for the visuals that'll actually be shown on film.

The story, on the other hand, was apparently lifted from that old Michael J. Fox film, Doc Hollywood. Filled with cliché after cliché, after a short time I started wondering why I was being lectured on the "escape to the small-town values" thing by a guy who makes a couple of million bucks a year and lives a few blocks from downtown Sonoma. From the moment in the opening race where we hear the setup, "three racers tied in points for the Piston Cup", we know what the rest of the sequence will be about. And, alas, there's little more revelation as that sequence unfolds, so no matter what the occurrences there's no drama. And, alas, the rest of the tale has that same predictability.

So this afternoon was the moment where Pixar changed from a "must see" brand to a "makes good films, but it's okay if I miss one". And as spectacular as the scenery and the graphics were, I'm sure that this is the last time that I'll make special note of how the images in a film were produced.

Not an actively bad film, but one that I think would be improved if it were watched without the audio. Enjoy the pictures and don't let the story distract you from the little sight gags, because there are no surprises in the arc.