I grew up with a brother who was a car enthusiast, so I always had an affinity for racing movies. There have been quite a few movies made about this extreme sport, notably SENNA and RUSH, what sets this one apart from other racing movies is the unmatched, boundary-pushing realism thanks to a partnership with the real Formula 1 experts for the sake of authenticity.
Director Joseph Kosinski aimed for a visceral depiction of F1 racing, to give the audience the sense of being in the driver’s seat and feel what the F1 driver goes through when their car is going 180+ miles per hour. It’s not that different from the last movie he directed, Top Gun: Maverick, which featured actual fighter jets and shooting inside the cockpits with Tom Cruise and the rest of the cast. This film also has a seasoned actor, and this time it’s Brad Pitt, who’s only a year younger than Cruise, surrounded by a much younger group of actors.
The script, co-written by Kosinski and Ehren Kruger (who also co-wrote Maverick), tells a classic underdog story in the world of F1 racing. Pitt’s Sonny Hayes is deemed ‘the one who never was’ after his promising F1 career was sidelined by a back-breaking injury 30 years earlier. After clinching a victory at a Daytona race, Hayes is approached by his old rival Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem) to help rescue his F1 team APXGP from finishing at the bottom of the championship.
The writers packed in as many action sequences as they could, and that’s where the film truly excels. World champion Lewis Hamilton was involved as a producer and provided insights on technical aspects, which helped guarantee the film’s precision and genuineness. Brad Pitt and Damson Idris put in a lot of training and drove modified F1 cars on actual tracks all over the globe.
Although the visuals and technical aspects are quite striking, the story itself is far from innovative, following the well-trodden path of an experienced driver clashing with his teammates, only to eventually take on the role of a mentor for the younger driver. Pitt fits the role of a jaded driver who’s seen it all… we learn quickly that Hayes was a star driver before the accident, then gambled his life away which took a toll on his relationships (twice divorced, one marriage was annulled).
Interesting that Pitt himself was twice divorced, the latter with Angelina Jolie being extremely bitter so he was in the midst of that during filming. He’s still got his looks and that cool ‘it boy’ factor. He sports shirtless scenes with aplomb and doesn’t give us the creep factor when making out with Kerry Condon, who’s twenty years his junior. Pitt has been mostly busy as a producer with his company Plan B, so this is the first time he has led a major movie since Babylon in 2022.
The supporting cast does get their moments to shine, particularly Idris and Condon. The 33-year-old Idris fits the role of a driven and charismatic young driver Joshua Pearce perfectly. Pearce’s intense personality is a nice contrast to the more laid-back Hayes, creating friction on and off the tracks. Condon is always lovely to watch in any movie, fun seeing her retain her Irish brogue as Kate, the APXGP technical director. Kate is brilliant but still has to constantly prove herself working in a largely male-dominated industry, similar to Jodie (Callie Cooke), the only girl in the Pit Stop crew. Tobias Menzies is great as a cunning APXGP board member, but he gets his comeuppance in the end.
But of course, people go see F1: The Movie for the racing spectacle, and Kosinski delivered that. I read that the budget reached $300 million, on par with the latest Mission Impossible movies. Apparently, at one point it was pitched as a sequel to Days of Thunder (also produced by Jerry Bruckheimer), but I’m glad it ended up being its own thing. F1 fans would certainly enjoy this movie immensely, given the collaboration with the real stars of the sport. Some of them, even Hamilton’s French bulldog, can be seen in the film. The amount of product placements is off the charts, but that’s to be expected given that car companies utilize F1 racing as a significant advertising and marketing platform.
I think the technical awards are in the cards for this movie, though acting/writing awards are unlikely. Cinematography (Claudio Miranda), production design, score, and sound design are top-notch. What’s notable here is the technology to film the racing scenes from the driver’s POV. I read that Apple designed unique and tiny cameras (less than 4 inches) to attach to the race cars, which were controlled by a special remote made by Panavision. Each car featured 15 camera mounts and could accommodate up to four cameras simultaneously. I absolutely love Hans Zimmer’s score here, easily my favorite score of the year so far. I find myself tapping my feet as I’m watching the movie, the music truly enhances the viewing experience. This is one I’m glad I saw on IMAX with Dolby sound.
I do think that this movie could’ve been edited further, as it drags quite a bit in parts during its 2-hour- 35-minute running time. For a movie that’s all about speed and precision, it’d be a better film if it’s closer to the 2-hour mark. Still, it’s one of the best films I’ve seen in the cinema, a great example of a full-throttle filmmaking effort.
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I don’t think I will see this. Ehren Kruger co-wrote it. That is a bad sign. He’s a hack. Plus, I’m not enamored with Joseph Kosinski as a filmmaker.
I’m not familiar with Ehren Kruger apart from Top Gun Maverick, which I know you didn’t watch because of your hatred for Cruise. I think Kosinski is more of a visual director, so he’s a hit and miss, but his style works for Summer movies like this one, I enjoyed it more than I expected.
Ehren Kruger wrote a lot of shit films including the Transformers movies.
I see, well I already avoided Transformer movies, I didn’t even bother to see who wrote them, ahah. In his defense though, I thought Kruger did decent scripts for Maverick and F1 Movie, they work well with the more visual-centric approach.
That’s because he had co-writers.
At first, I had no interest in seeing it since I don’t care for F1 or any car racing. But after seeing a 5 minute preview at Dolby Cinema before the showing of Sinners, I had to see it on the big screen with Dolby Atmos. While it’s basically a remake of Days of Thunder, this one has better characters but the story is pretty much the same. But with advanced in technology, the racing scenes are much better and since it’s F1, it’s globe trotting. I’m surprised how much I enjoyed it.
I think Hans Zimmer remix of heroic theme from Days of Thunder and used it in this movie. Lol! Like the scene when Pitt’s character showed up to meet his new team is basically the same as when Cruise’s character was introduced in Days of Thunder with similar theme.
I wasn’t all that interested initially, as I’ve never been a big fan of Pitt, but I was curious because of the F1 involvement and the stellar rating. Glad I did because it was enjoyable. Plus I love Kerry Condon and am impressed with Damson Idris, both of them should get more roles! Yeah, I enjoyed it more than I thought too!
I guess it’s a good thing I barely remember anything from Days of Thunder then, as the movie AND the score felt new to me. Now I might rewatch that scene you mentioned about Cruise’s intro.
Since this was supposed to be a sequel to Days of Thunder, so if you watch Days of Thunder, you’ll see the similarities. You switch out Pitt’s Sunny with Cruise’s Cole from Days of Thunder and it’s direct sequel. Lol!
Recently, Jerry Bruckheimer was on a sports talk show and he said he’s working with Cruise on the actual sequel to Days of Thunder. And then Kosinski said in an interview that if F1 make enough money and gets a sequel green light, he was thinking of doing a cross over with Days of Thunder since the movies world loves sharing the same universe these days. So, we might see a Sunny and Cole team up soon. Ha ha!
Well Kosinski knows both Cruise and Pitt and the movies he made with them are big hits, so who knows? Maybe they’re willing to team up. I think people would be interested to see these two veteran movie stars reunite since ‘Interview with the Vampire’ and they don’t need to be in the makeup chair for hours doing these types of movies, ha ha!
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I’d maybe catch this on streaming but since I’m not an F1 fan, this won’t be a theater watch for me. I’m glad to hear it’s decent though!
Yeah I think it’ll drop on AppleTV soon. I do think it’s fun seeing it on the big screen, as the visuals/sound are amazing. I just wish my car-enthusiast brother were still alive to see this, he’d love it!
I have not seen the movie. It sounds like a technical masterpiece, but I’m not sure a racing movie can hold me. Top Gun did not manage to hold me.
Anyway, Brad Pitt is another actor that was so cute he upset my stomach, but notwthat he’s older, he’s looking good. (not as fab as Pierce though)
I’ll check it out when it streams, see what happens!
Thanks Ruth! xxxxx
Ahah, ‘so cute that he upset your stomach?’ It’s funny, but I never found him all that attractive even when he was younger. I guess I much prefer guys with dark hair like Pierce, though my fave Bond is Timothy Dalton (talk about tall, dark and extremely handsome!)
Well, if the latest Top Gun didn’t hold your attention, I doubt this one would either, Resa. Thanks for your fab comment as always! XOXOXO ❤ ❦ ♡ ♥
XOXOXO
🥂 to tall, dark and handsome, and to too, cute get old and handsome!
Excellent reviews as always Ruth. I had a chance to see the movie recently and absolutely adored it. I’m not a fan of race cars or formula 1. But I was captivated by it. Brad Pitt at his absolute best. One of my favourite films of the year.
Here’s my thoughts on the movie:
Hello Huilahi! That’s great that you love this too, I enjoyed the racing scenes despite not being an F1 fan. Unlike you though, I’m just so so about Pitt but he fits the role well here. I like Damson Idris and Kerry Condon in this movie, too!
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