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F1: The Movie Review
Image Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures / Apple Original Films
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Directed By: Joseph Kosinski
Written By: Ehren Kruger
Runtime: 156 minutes
MPA Rating: Rated PG-13 for strong language and action.
Brad Pitt – Sonny Hayes
Javier Bardem – Ruben Cervantes
Damson Idris – Joshua Pearce
Kerry Condon – Kate
Tobias Menzies – Banning
Kim Bodnia – Kasper
Samson Kayo – Cashman
Sarah Niles – Bernadette Pearce
Tobias Menzies – Peter Banning
Top Gun: Maverick filmmaker Joseph Kosinski crafts an exciting new motorsports-themed feature, F1: The Movie, or F1 for short. Made officially in collaboration with Formula 1, its governing body, Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, and the F1 community, F1 lends a strong layer of authenticity to a compelling, albeit somewhat overly familiar, narrative. Nonetheless, F1 still provides some high-octane thrills, despite a pedestrian script by Ehren Kruger.
The story follows Sonny Hayes (Pitt), a once-up-and-coming Formula 1 racing prospect who crashed out of the sport before he rose to prominence. After suffering a debilitating accident, a string of divorces, and going broke as a degenerate gambler, Hayes has rededicated his life to racing. The film picks up with Sonny working as a freelancer for whatever racing opportunities he can find, pushing a team past the finish line at NASCAR’s 24 Hours at Daytona.
Soon, Sonny receives a personal visit from an old friend from his Formula 1 days, Ruben Cervantes (Bardem). Ruben, a retired driver, turned in his helmet for a business suit, taking ownership of the fictional racing team, APXGP. Ruben has a problem. His team is in debt and its worst season yet. The top driver, Joshua Pearce (Idris), is talented, but he is a green rookie and has not yet managed a single finish in the top ten. With only a handful of races left, Ruben desperately needs a Hail Mary play to save his job as team owner, believing Pitt is APXGP’s only hope. Of course, there would not be a movie if Sonny didn’t accept the offer, and Sonny eventually joins the team.
Initially, Sonny’s unconventional style clashes with the team’s big-money, rigid corporate structure, including Team Principal Kasper (Bodnia) and their technical director, Kate (Condon). Kate, a former rocket scientist, has something to prove to her critics. At first, Kate doubts that Sonny’s idea to alter their multi-million-dollar Formula 1 cars in pursuit of on-track combat will work. Sonny’s style fails to mesh with his teammate, Joshua Pearce, as they brew a rivalry on and off the track. Nonetheless, these hard-headed, spirited underdogs must put aside their differences for a shot at F1 glory.
Kosinski’s directing style and the solid performances from a talented cast certainly elevate what could have been an average script. F1 follows many familiar tropes and narrative strokes of sports movies, but Kosinski succeeds in making Sonny Hayes’ underdog story exciting. Brad Pitt delivers a believably strong performance as Sonny Hayes, portraying him with an interesting layer of self-awareness, where it certainly appears that the film attempts to, on some level, mirror Pitt’s own life on a meta-level.
Pitt brings an intriguing pragmatic quality to Sonny Hayes. After a tumultuous life, Sonny now drives for an elusive feeling he can only achieve through racing, and Formula 1 is an old demon from his past that he must exorcise. Sonny describes the feeling as if he can see everything around him and feels like he’s “flying” on the track. It plays like the cathartic epiphany that every protagonist searches for in sports movies. It’s practically Sports Movie 101. However, F1 still manages to make it fun and rousing, and that demonstrates the movie’s strength.
It certainly helps that F1 looks visually stunning. Kosinski went all out for the film’s racing scenes, as the director shot his adventure using real F1 teams, drivers, and tracks. The racing sequences look immersive, grand, and epic. Oscar-winning cinematographer Claudio Miranda expertly lenses these sequences, which offer a sense of speed and momentum while taking in the action of vehicular poetry. The movie’s IMAX format features an experience completely shown in the 1.90:1 aspect ratio for the entire runtime, which increases the immersion for the racing scenes.
Elsewhere, the narrative lacks a stronger sense of the F1 rivalries. Most of the rivalry in the story unfolds through Hayes and Pearce’s character arcs. It would have been beneficial if the film did more to establish the other top drivers Hayes and Pearce were shooting to surpass for the season. The film does utilize real-life F1 drivers, who are not experienced actors. However, most of the other drivers, especially the on-track rivals, provide little more than cameo appearances and serve as nondescript, throwaway characters.
Kosinski crafts a stimulating, high-octane theatrical spectacle with F1. The script follows some familiar narrative beats, but strong production values, solid performances, stunning cinematography, and an exceptional IMAX presentation make this an entertaining ride to watch in theaters.
