If you’ve been waiting for a movie to get you off the couch and into a theater, wait no longer: “F1: The Movie” is the type of film that was tailor-made for summer entertainment. The film, directed by Joseph Kosinski and action producer Jerry Bruckheimer, the duo who brought the movie box office back from the dead a couple of years ago with the thrilling sequel, “Top Gun: Maverick,” delivers another thrill ride that will leave you breathless.
“F1: The Movie,” made with the full cooperation of F1, benefits from the partnership because the film feels authentic. One can smell a fake a mile away, and in this era of CGI-fueled superhero entertainment, it’s refreshing to see a movie made the old-fashioned way, with cameras in the cars, zooming around the track at 200 Km/h. Trust me, you’ll feel as if you’re in the race car.
Made by Apple Studios, which to date hasn’t had a film hit to speak of, this film changes all of that in a single Formula One lap, with its nonstop pulse-pounding action that will please racing and non-racing fans alike. The package will seem familiar: An aging one-time racing phenom gets the opportunity of a lifetime to return to the sport he’d long since abandoned in a hail-Mary move to try and get a last-place team into the points and a desperation try at a first-place finish to save the team from certain sale. Brad Pitt plays Sonny Hayes, the racer, and as the film’s script shrewdly informs the audience, Formula One has fielded drivers over the age of 50 before. So, it’s enough to lend credibility to the story, and just like Robert Redford’s oldest rookie ballplayer, Roy Hobbs, we are ready to root for the underdog.
Naturally, there’s the young driving sensation trying to make a name for himself, Joshua Pearce, played by newcomer Damson Idris, who Pitt’s Hayes must help along, and the pair will form a rivalry as old as any sports movie cliché can dish out. We know how this relationship is going to go, and it’s fine because “F1: The Movie” embraces its tropes and cliches unabashedly and doesn’t pretend to be anything more or less than what it is: pure, unbridled entertainment.
The film gets so much right that I can easily overlook any of its faults. Pitt engages throughout, and he’s supported by an excellent cast, including his team’s engineer, Kerry Condon, whom people may remember from her standout supporting role in “The Banshees of Inisherin.” Naturally, Condon also serves as Pitt’s love interest, and it is refreshing to see Hollywood making an age-appropriate romance that doesn’t feel out of place. It works, just like pretty much everything else in this finely tuned machine.
Several years ago, our oldest roped my wife and me into watching F1 races on Sunday mornings. It soon turned into mandatory weekend viewing. I attended an F1 race in Canada with my son back in 2019, and my wife and I still follow the sport to this day. Having that understanding of the nuances made me appreciate the film all the more. The filmmakers respect the sport, and they’ve done their homework to get it right. We are not saddled with a real sport where the governing body is portrayed by a fake name, sponsors, and racers. In this movie, the story plops the audience into the real world of F1. If you know the sport, you’ll enjoy seeing your favorite racers. Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Alex Albon, Max Verstappen, Charles LeClerc, and most of the others on the circuit at the time of filming all make appearances. Familiar F1 announcers David Croft and Martin Brundle do the announcing during the film races. And while some of their comments explain the terminology to the audience more thoroughly than they might during a live broadcast, it helps educate the uninitiated on aspects of an F1 race.
Again, the plot of the film isn’t anything you haven’t seen a zillion times, but it’s woven together in a fresh enough story that you’ll enjoy all the beats leading up to its thrilling conclusion. And, as I’ve watched more than half a decade of F1, I can safely say that many of the twists and turns that occur during the races in this movie happen during a season. Watch any F1 race when a rainstorm hits, and you’ll understand the chaos that ensues, and the unpredictability of a finish are not scripted moments. Several of the events in the movie feel more than a bit inspired by things I’ve seen happen over the past several seasons.
Okay, here’s the pitch: You need to see this on a big screen. I made the trip to Massachusetts and saw it in IMAX. Wow. If there was ever a movie built for the gigantic IMAX screen and superior sound system, this film is it. The seats shook, and you did feel as if you were right in the middle of the action. I know that this coming weekend, “F1: The Movie” will still be playing at the IMAX theater in Reading, Massachusetts. If you find yourself traveling that way over the holiday weekend, I recommend checking it out. It’s also playing in theaters around the region, so if you can, try to see this one in the theater. You won’t be disappointed. When I exited my screening, I heard several enthusiastic audience members declare, “Hollywood needs to make more movies like that.” I couldn’t agree more.
James Kent is the arts editor at the Mountain Times.
