F1 Movie Review: If, in his last film Top Gun: Maverick, Joseph Kosinski gave us the closest possible taste of what it feels like inside a fighter-jet cockpit (or at least as close as you can get while staring at an IMAX cinema screen), then in his newest – F1 – he brings us back down to Earth and into a tangle of racing circuits for the same visceral rush, this time from the cockpit of a Formula One car. That film had Tom Cruise, whose stardom has endured since the ’80s; this one has Brad Pitt, an actor with a similarly bullet-proof legacy (except he’s not trying to kill himself for our entertainment, plus he actually has an Oscar). Both, incidentally, have played vampire lovers in the same movie and also questionable track-records as husbands in real life – not that it matters here, but just saying. ‘F1’: Brad Pitt Talks About New Film, Shares Reason Behind His New Buzz Cut. F1 is a racing drama made in collaboration with the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, the governing body of the Formula One World Championship. Translation: that collaboration helps quite well in making the races look and feel authentic. If you get your kicks from high-speed car chases – even if that thrill usually comes from binge-gaming Gran Turismo (which, for once, had a decent film adaptation) – you’ll probably enjoy F1. I certainly did, and I’m not even a racing fan. ‘F1’ Movie Review – The Plot Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) is a racer-for-hire, a gambler, and a New York City taxi driver living out of a van. We meet him as he helps his team win the 24 Hours of Daytona, only to slip away before the celebrations. Years ago, a horrific crash nuked his dream of winning in F1, and he’s avoided the league ever since. That changes when old team-mate-turned-mate Ruben (Javier Bardem) offers him a seat as second driver for APXGP. At present, the outfit is banking on rookie hotshot Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), but he hasn’t scored a single point, and a looming buy-out threatens to put everyone out of work. Watch the Trailer of ‘F1’: After about sixty seconds of token reluctance, Sonny signs on. His seasoned, cocky swagger collides immediately with Pearce’s supercilious youthful zest; the kid’s convinced the old man will steal his thunder, though Sonny’s sole brief is to help Pearce scrape a point. Sonny’s maverick style also rubs technical director Kate (Kerry Condon) and team principal Kaspar (Kim Bodnia) the wrong way… at least initially. Whether he can make peace with his new crew – and haul APXGP up the standings before the sale goes through – is the crux of the film. ‘F1’ Movie Review – Familiar Underdog Tale Objectively, the screenplay by Kosinski (story) and Ehren Kruger is a paint-by-numbers underdog tale. A gifted but haunted veteran can’t shake the big one that got away – he even has literal nightmares about it. Expect early stumbles, a brief high, then one or two crushing lows before the final, all-or-nothing race. There’s a romance that starts on shaky grounds; there’s a corporate snake in the grass – the usual suspects. A Still From F1 None of that would be a problem if the film didn’t run a hefty 156 minutes. Familiar beats can drag when you see them coming a mile off. ‘F1’ Movie Review – Champions Its Way Through The Races Still, once F1 hits the track, it’s a different beast – a champion, literally and technically. The races are shot so dynamically that you can almost feel the wind whipping off the cars. Cameras hug the tarmac in POV shots that pivot from nose to rear wing; the editing is razor-sharp, the sound design immaculate. Hans Zimmer’s score soars, and the needle-drops used are quite fun. My favourite stretch arrives near the end – I won’t spoil it – featuring a brilliant use of ‘lack of noise’ and incredible camerawork that one character describes as a driver is actually ‘flying’. A Still From F1 It isn’t just how the races look; it’s what Sonny brings to them. His USP is his cunningness on the tracks – rule-book-legal manipulative games that give him or Pearce the edge. Even a Formula One novice like me couldn’t help but grin at how he manages to pull them off. If you expects surprises in the film, expect them when the cars are racing by, including in that final stretch. Gran Turismo Movie Review: Archie Madekwe, David Harbour Shine in Neil Blomkamp’s Feel-Good Sports Biopic Based on the PlayStation Game! A Still From F1 Because the film has FIA’s blessing – with seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton on board as technical adviser and producer – real-life racing titans pop up in cameos, adding heft. A Still From F1 But since I am not exactly a racing fan, I have to ask those who are – like, if you are a Max Verstappen fan, would you be rooting for someone fictional to beat him in a race? (On a separate note, I’m pretty sure I spied blink-and-miss appearances by Chris Hemsworth and Simone Ashley.) ‘F1’ Movie Review – The Performances Performance-wise, the cast is rock-solid. Pitt is effortlessly magnetic, selling Sonny’s swagger and buried vulnerability; as Kate might put it, he’s an ageing cowboy chasing one last sunset. Idris makes Pearce a believable Gen-Z phenom more obsessed with socials than silver cups, letting the character be suitably arrogant but just enough to feel reedemable later on. A Still From F1 Bardem brings a roguish likability to Ruben, and Condon – superb in The Banshees of Inisherin – does what she can with a role that never expands beyond supportive glue. The script tells us Kate is the first female technical director in F1, yet because APXGP only claws its way up after Sonny suggests a couple of tweaks, this isn’t quite the feminist victory lap the film seems to fancy itself. Sarah Niles plays Joshua’s assertive mother nicely. Top Gun Maverick Movie Review: Tom Cruise’s Legacy Sequel is a Gripping, Emotional Spectacle That Honours the Original! ‘F1’ Movie Review – Final Thoughts F1 may not reinvent the wheel when it comes to sports drama storytelling, but when it enters the racing circuits, the movie soars to new heights, propelled by Brad Pitt’s magnetic lead performance. The racing scenes are kinetic and immersive, shot with such precision and flair that you can forgive the formulaic plotting otherwise. Thanks to its slick technical finesse, the film becomes a true big-screen spectacle that deserve watching on IMAX screens, no compromises.