Has there ever been a really bad movie about racecar driving? Sure, there have been some not-so-good ones about the men who build the fastest cars in the world, but those about the drivers who dare to race at over 200mph are typically so thrilling that we just love them. That said, there’s never been a movie about modern-day Formula One that has made the sport as visceral, as exciting, as hypnotic as F1. Directed by Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski and developed with historic collaboration with the sport itself, it’s truly a mesmerizing, immersive experience like none other, with the most incredible racing sequences ever put on the big screen. Ironically, this pedal-to-the-mettle experience is balanced by a grounded, nuanced performance by Brad Pitt, who has never looked or sounded more like Robert Redford ever in his life.
F1 does have a lot in common with Top Gun: Maverick, which is fair considering they share the same director, screenwriter Ehren Kruger, and uber-producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Some elements of the story remain the same, as well, with Pitt playing the veteran racer Sonny Hayes, paired up with a brash young upstart, Joshua “Noah” Pearce”, played by Damson Idris, while racing for the Apex Grand Prix team. Sonny is just as arrogant, self-absorbed, and reckless, but he’s a good guy at heart. A former prodigy in the ’90s who raced with some of the greats (Ayron Senna, subject of an amazing 2010 doc, is mentioned often), but saw his career derailed by a near-fatal crash. Now Sonny travels the globe in a busted up van, a racer in his 60s, chasing the experiences he never got to have. When we meet him, he’s just helped his buddy’s team win at Daytona, but Sonny refuses an offer to join them. Instead, he accepts an opportunity from his old rival, Ruben (Javier Bardem), to join Apex and help them get their first win. If they can’t by the end of the season, the team will be taken over and sold.
So F1 is centered by this relatable, human story as Sonny seeks victory as well as redemption. But to do it, he’ll have to learn to work with Noah, a kid obsessed with social media and pumped up to oppose the old man who threatens his spot as top driver. Their conflict is very familiar. They’ll have to put grievances in the past and learn to be a real team if Apex is going to cross the finish line. Perhaps Kruger knows this, because the off-track stuff is kept to a minimum. One of the many great things about F1 is that it really focuses on the racing, putting you behind the wheel like no other movie has ever done. The other stuff; the relationships, the business side with a shady board member (played by Tobias Menzies), and Sonny’s romance with the team engineer (Kerry Condon), are kept to a minimum. They are all handled extremely well, but other racing movies would focus on that stuff and the racing would be like this dessert treat that you had to wait for. F1 is the complete opposite. The racing is front forward at all times, with Sonny coming up with some diabolical veteran tricks to help Apex climb up the ranks. You’ll be an expert on some of Formula One’s bizarre rules by the time this movie is over. What you’ll also get is an inside look at the futuristic technology that helps build these incredible cars, and to help mold the best drivers in the world. I was blown away by a virtual reality simulator that can recreate any scenario. It’s like you’re on the Enterprise training in the holo-deck. Tom Cruise must be kicking himself that he didn’t make this movie first. With 7-time world champion Lewis Hamilton as a producer and consultant, joined by loads of other racing superstars, we’re given a fascinating look at the world of Formula One and this movie is sure to earn it loads of new fans.
Kosinski is a technical wiz, and all of his movies have been big, bold, and demanding to be seen in IMAX. This stretches back to his earlier work on Tron: Legacy, Oblivion, Top Gun: Maverick, and even something like the underrated firefighter drama Only the Brave. But F1, I can’t stress this enough, MUST be seen in the biggest, loudest format you can find. If there’s an IMAX near you then get yourself there for F1. The twists and turns of the track will turn your stomach into knots in the best way imaginable. This is the kind of movie that the theater experience was made for, with Hans Zimmer delivering a ripper of a score. That it’s an Apple Original (distributed by Warner Bros.)and will eventually be streaming on Apple TV+, don’t let that encourage you to wait to watch it at home on the couch.
F1 opens in theaters on June 27th.
