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F1: The Movie (🌟🌟🌟🌟) is a damn good summer blockbuster. The race sequences in this movie are flat-out special & some of the best scenes I’ve seen all year. Director Joseph Kosinski literally puts you in the driver’s seat during each race through world-class use of sound (which includes a great Hans Zimmer score), visuals, and real boots-on-the-ground filmmaking. From the in-camera driver shots to the overhead race track visuals, the filmmaking carries this movie & helps cover up holes in otherwise average story. Combine that world-class filmmaking with an outstanding cast lead by a really good Brad Pitt performance & the end result is a great time at the movie theater.
The story behind F1 is nothing we haven’t seen before: Brad Pitt plays Sonny Hayes, an old dog known for a reckless career racing in NASCAR who’s trying to learn new tricks. Those new tricks include leading a failing F1 team run by his long-time friend Ruben (Javier Bardem) who desperately needs a new driver to race alongside the face of the team, Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris). It’s your classic, cliche “old school vs. new school”, in which the old school guy’s seen it all, lived it twice, and cares about nothing.
The story, as I’m sure you can tell, is almost identical to Top Gun: Maverick, which comes at no surprise given the same man directed both films. Make no mistake, F1 is nowhere near as good as Maverick. I think Maverick sort of shattered the mold & perhaps broke our expectations for what a summer blockbuster should be. The criteria for a good summer blockbuster- normally- is should be highly entertaining, often memorable, and sometimes silly enough that it usually doesn’t receive massive critical acclaim. F1 fits that bill perfectly. Outside of maybe some below-the-line nominations, don’t expect this film to show up at the Oscars. I say all that to say this: F1 squarely satiates my thirst for a summer blockbuster but does not go above that.
But even if I told you F1 were 2/3rds as good as Maverick, wouldn’t that interest you? So much of the DNA that made Maverick work is in this film- and that goes back to the filmmaking. You guys know I’m a story over filmmaking guy - I almost always need a good story. Here, the story is fine. I think some more “high brow” film critics will have issues with the story and won’t be able to overcome those issues. I also think some “high brow” fans of F1 will have major issues with Pitt’s character- mainly his age & lack of experience. But none of those things interfered with my enjoyment of this film & that’s because Kosinski literally forces you to the edge of your seat. The sound of the cars & the turns is so engaging & mixed with real drivers and real F1 cars on real race tracks, it’s so hard not to fall head over heals for the things Kosinski pulls off.
Then there’s the casting- which I loved. Javier Bardem has never, ever, ever looked better on screen & my god he’s excellent in this movie. But man his suits were fire. Then there’s Kerry Condon & Damson Idris - both of whom thrive. But the story here is Brad Pitt. I thought Pitt knocked this out of the park. It’s a vintage movie-star performance. I don’t care about his age & I don’t care that some of the lines Pitt is given are cliche as hell. Everything Brad does here is captivating. I could watch Pitt anxiously toss cards in a dressing room while he waits for a race for hours. I wouldn’t call this an all-time Brad Pitt performance, but I would call it a quintessential Pitt performance.
F1 is everything a summer blockbuster is supposed to be: fun.
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