F1: The Movie – Movie Reviews by Ry!

F1: The Movie – When Old Meets New: Let’s go Racing!!!!

In the world of film, the aspect of delight is defined by the escape.  With the fervor of laughter and tears, context provides a place where the experience sparks a personal grip.  Once you feel that grip, then the journey was worth the squeeze.  In this review, I look at the latest blockbuster to hit the big screen.  From a simple premise, F1: the Movie is a journey that shows what it means to find true heart in wheels upon the racetrack. 

When old meets new in Formula One, mentor and mentee will come to find out that there is much more to racing than just asphalt on wheels.  At the heart of any journey are its characters.  From comedy to romance, what enthralls a reason to feel is a matter of finding that grip to the human experience.  In this film, it pairs that blockbuster feel and subtle characterization with its two main characters: old racing prodigy Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt), and up-and-coming rookie driver Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris).  With these two, you have a clash of old sensibility meeting new era racer.  The conflict of protagonist creates a journey that goes against the grain of a ‘typical rags to riches’ tale, propelling the experience into two aspects that make it more than just another blockbuster:

The Heart of the Personal

With two ‘Type A’ personalities, you have that foundation of experience versus arrogance.  With its simplicity, the filmmakers springboard through the actualization of its characters.  With Hayes, he is brought in by team owner (and old racing buddy), Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem) to help salvage the season.  This catalyzes the journey and conflict with Pearce, who (at first) sees Hayes as a threat.  As the journey (and racing) moves along in the latter half of the Formula One season, action and drama mix together to create a layered dissection at what it means to be a racer.  That cathartic direction provides a look at Hayes’ past and Pearce’s promising future, a fragility that humanizes the experience.  With these two providing that characterized grip, it creates a pathway to the second aspect that propels this blockbuster to another level of enjoyment: the human aspect of racing.

The Human Aspect of Racing

When you see the battles on the racetrack, it becomes much more than just a struggle between Hayes, Pearce and the other racers.  The layer of each race becomes a dissection of what makes up the team: a combination of emotional worth and probable aspects of technical and human prowess that can make or break a Formula One season.  From the mechanical breaks to the overtures of quick decisions, you see with the ancillary characters (view the actor/actress list on the IMdb page – link), it becomes a mixture of atypical individuals raising above common tropes.  Even if conversations are driven by ‘tongue and cheek’ motifs, there is enough personality that creates a feeling of happiness and pain throughout each race. 

With these two aspects, the journey weaves through many highs and lows of personal growth and melodramatic twists.  The simplistic notions do create auspicious moments, but even as these scenes cause bumps in the story, you still feel the powerful sensations of each race through the technical directives and the onlook as if you are the racer in the cockpit.  When we come to the final act, it is that familiar ‘blockbuster’ sensation, but it is heightened by the characters caught in the moment.  When the climax comes, it becomes one of pure delight, that leaves you with a smile on your face.  F1: the Movie blends familiarity with the human experience.  If you are a fan of racing (of any kind), action, suspense or blockbusters, this is one for you.  No matter the case, I say this is a great time at the theaters. 

Full Score – 4 out of 5 (Full Price)