Cars 3 is the best of the franchise, not that that means all that much. Now on Digital HD and streaming and soon coming to Blu-ray, the movie brings back Lightning McQueen and thankfully only the minimally required amount of Mater to make quota—for another racing adventure that no adult Pixar fan was asking for.

The first Cars movie was well made but a bore through and through; the second was more entertaining but easily Pixar’s biggest and most embarrassing sellout by a mile.

Cars 3, thankfully, parks itself right in the middle. It’s more sincere and heartfelt than #2 and notably easier to watch than the first; it isn’t groundbreaking Pixar in any sense of the word, but it’s still made with care and determination to finally get things right.

The plot this time revolves around the fact that Lightning McQueen is getting old and that new, younger and more advanced automobiles are entering the racing arena—and outpacing him by an embarrassing degree. After a terrible accident, McQueen shifts into overdrive to make his comeback and gains some new friends in his attempt to do so.

The Rocky comeback is a tried and true formula that translates well to Pixar’s racetrack, giving McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) some new obstacles to overcome. The movie features some decent racing scenes that boast strong visual effects, and there’s some moral lessons to be learned if you care for that kind of thing. None of the new characters strike me as kid favorites, but then again, what do I know?

There isn’t much else to be said. Cars 3 is the best of the bunch by at least a lap or two, but the franchise as a whole is nonessential Disney-Pixar. But it’s a movie—unlike the last two—that you can enjoy alongside your children, and that alone deserves a checkered flag.

Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.