David R. Walker

F1: The Movie

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Cast: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Javier Bardem, Kerry Condon, Shea Wingham, Tobias Menzies, Sarah Niles, Will Merrick

Running Time: 2 hours 35 minutes

Film Rating: 8 out of 10

Director Joseph Kosinski follows up his hugely successful 2022 film Top Gun: Maverick with F1: The Movie starring Oscar winner Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) as racing car driver Sonny Hayes who teams up with the young driver Joshua Pierce played by Damson Idris in a bid to revive his racing career in an around the world docudrama which possesses strong production values, great acting and a storyline which is average.

F1: The Movie is not going to appeal to everyone but it is saved by some great performances relying heavily on the star power of Brad Pitt who at 61 still commands the screen with his sparkling blue eyes and that screen charisma which is electrifying. Pairing Brad Pitt with Spanish Oscar winner Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men) is a brilliant choice as Bardem plays the flashy Ruben Cervantes the talent manager of a racing car team which travels the F1 circuit from Silverstone in England to Abu Dhabi in the UAE with a pit stop in Las Vegas.

While screenwriter Ehren Kruger’s storyline reads more like a repetitive docudrama about racing cars, there are some significant scenes particularly between Pitt and Bardem and Pitt’s love interest played by Irish star and Oscar nominee Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin) who retains her accent for this international racing film.

Initially the young driver Joshua Pierce clashes with the supposedly washed up driver Sonny Hayes who is recovering from gambling debts and failed marriages, Hayes and Pierce at the request of the first female technical director Kate McKenna expertly played by Kerry Condon urges the two drivers to work together as team because that is what racing car driving is all about.

Where F1: The Movie scores big is with the glossy production design by Ben Munro and Mark Tildesley along with expert cinematography by Oscar winner Claudio Miranda who won for Life of Pi. The film’s editing is also brilliant and while the storyline does lag in parts it’s really the acting which carries F1: The Movie across the finish line. Of particular note are the scenes in Las Vegas and the final race in the impressive Abu Dhabi F1 race track.

The screen chemistry between Kerry Condon and Brad Pitt is perfect while rising star Damson Idris does his best to hold his own on screen against these established stars.

Produced by Lewis Hamilton amongst others, F1: The Movie is an interesting film, slightly long but worth seeing without all the glamour and drama of Ron Howard’s 2013 film Rush.

See the film for Brad Pitt who is excellent as Sonny Hayes the man that proves that you can still drive forever.

F1: The Movie gets a film rating of 8 out of 10 and is recommended viewing for those that love sporting films. The technical aspects of this film outweigh any narrative discrepancies. Just watch out for a cinematic experience crammed with strategic brand placement.

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