In Theaters This Weekend: Reviews of ‘Cars 3,’ ‘All Eyez on Me’ and More

Disney/Pixar’s Cars 3 and Tupac Shakur biopic All Eyez on Me are among the new releases hitting theaters this weekend. Also opening Friday is Scarlett Johannson, Kate McKinnon and Zoe Kravitz in Rough Night and Mandy Moore’s shark thriller 47 Meters Down.

Read on to find out what The Hollywood Reporter‘s critics are saying about the new offerings (as well as which film will likely top the weekend box office).

Cars 3

Disney/Pixar’s memorable Cars characters are back for a third run, with Owen Wilson, Cristela Alonzo, Kerry Washington and Armie Hammer along for the ride as the voice cast of the film. Wilson resumes his role of voicing legendary Lightning McQueen who is back to the races but blindsided by the new generation. THR critic Michael Rechtshaffen says that the third installment is “back on track” after a Cars 2 but “not quite up to speed.” He adds, “Pixar was able to pinpoint the “winning formula of humor, heart and action (along with an added dose of Route 66-informed nostalgia) that made the 2006 original such a sweet ride.” Read the full review here.

All Eyez on Me

West coast rapper Tupac Shakur’s rise is chronicled two decades after his death in Benny Boom’s biopic, starring Demetrius Shipp Jr. After the film passed through directors Antoine Fuqua, Carl Franklin and John Singleton, THR critic Stephen Dalton writes that director Boom’s film “adds to this culture of reverence, but in the process it sanitizes and simplifies a complex American idol, ultimately doing a disservice to the man and his fans.” He however, writes that Shipp Jr. — who greatly resembles the star — “embodies the late rapper’s sweet charm and sex appeal.” Read the full review here.

Rough Night

The R-rated female comedy — derived from the “Hangover mold,” writes THR critic David Rooney — stars Scarlett Johansson, Kate McKinnon, Ilana Glazera, Jillian Bell and Zoe Kravitz in a Miami bachelorette party weekend gone wrong. Written and directed by two from Comedy Central’s Broad City script team (Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs), Rooney adds that “all the talented women here are stuck playing types rather than characters, in a strained frolic in which both the verbal humor and the physical gags too often fall flat.” Read the full review here.

47 Meters Down

Mandy Moore and Claire Holt star in the latest shark thriller which follows two sisters whose cage-diving goes wrong as they are left at the bottom of the ocean surrounded by great white sharks. The film ends with a surprise twist. THR critic Frank Scheck writes in his review, “On its own B-movie terms 47 Meters Down works just fine, not wearing out its welcome thanks to its quick set-up, rapid pacing and brief running time. The CGI-rendered sharks are surprisingly convincing, and Holt and Moore do an excellent job of looking terrified throughout.”

The Book of Henry

Naomi Watts stars in Colin Trevorrow’s latest film as the mother of a boy genius, played by Jacob Tremblay. THR critic John DeFore writes in his review, “Those of us who’ve allowed ourselves to care about the latest Star Wars trilogy may be made fearful about the prospect of an Episode IX directed by Trevorrow. The garden-variety blockbuster lameness of his Jurassic World was one thing; after this near-catastrophe, can he really be trusted with the fate of the Jedi?”

Maudie

Sally Hawkins portrays Maud Lewis in the Sony Pictures Classics biopic, depicting the true story of an unlikely romance between recluse Everett Lewis who hires a fragile yet determined woman named to be his housekeeper. Ethan Hawke co-stars as Lewis in the Aisling Walsh film. THR chief film critic Todd McCarthy writes that Sally Hawkins shines in the film. He adds, that the “intimate” film is “In its own eccentric way, a classic success story against the odds.” Read the full review here.