People race for a variety of reasons. Some may seek glory or money (or both), while others are determined to be the best, no matter the cost. That price may be quite high given the dangers of traveling at high speeds under less than optimal conditions, yet the allure of just barely pulling off a daring turn or feat is too strong. F1 is a full-throttle action ride showcasing two very different personalities who are both unable to eject from their preordained paths, set on winning even though their records aren’t exactly indicative of first-place finishers.
After he pulls off an impressive Dayton victory, Sonny (Brad Pitt) is approached by his old friend and racing buddy Ruben (Javier Bardem), who tells him that he’s $350 million in on an F1 team that hasn’t even placed in any of the previous races. Sonny accepts Ruben’s offer to join the team only to arrive and immediately clash with the other racer, Joshua (Damson Idris), and learn that he was the ninth choice. Sonny’s daredevil tactics yield mixed results, threatening Ruben’s ownership of the team and making everyone around him question whether he really was the right choice to be, as a board member puts it, the Hail Mary for this troubled brand.
At sixty-one years old, Pitt continues to ooze charisma and charm. Much of the film finds his face smushed into a helmet and sweating as he makes daring and often dangerous decisions on the track, but there’s something about his voice that exudes confidence and can’t be ignored. Years of disappointment and unfortunate choices have led nowhere great for Sonny, and that’s turned him into someone who doesn’t have much regard for the rules and just makes up his own as he goes. While he would surely make for a terrible teammate in real life, always going directly to Plan C – which stands for chaos – he’s a fantastic lead for this film.
Idris has already made a name for himself on television with a starring role in Snowfall and a memorable guest appearance opposite Andrew Scott in Black Mirror. At roughly half Pitt’s age, he brings an entirely different energy to the role of Joshua, full of swagger and attitude, extremely displeased with being sidelined by anyone, let alone someone who has already had and thrown away their shot. The two actors are phenomenal opposite each other, trading barbs and low blows as they build a rough partnership that only occasionally results in them actually achieving something positive.
The rest of the ensemble enhances the film’s comedic undertones, with Kim Bodnia (Killing Eve) and Will Merrick (Dead Pixels) as key members of Ruben’s team and Sarah Niles (Ted Lasso) as Joshua’s supportive but concerned mother. The true standout, who plays perfectly off both Pitt and Idris, is Kerry Condon, who received an Oscar nomination several years ago for The Banshees of Inisherin and excels in the role of Kate, the first female technical director of an F1 team. She ensures that the part doesn’t succumb to typical trope tendencies and remains as relevant and vital to the team’s success as its two drivers.
This film benefits enormously from the experience of director Joseph Kosinski, coming off the success of Top Gun: Maverick and bringing with him previous collaborators, including cinematographer Claudio Miranda and composer Hans Zimmer. The camerawork makes it so that audiences remain fixated on the race and the seemingly never-ending track throughout every new lap, switching perspectives constantly yet remain intensely focused. Each new locale offers its own slightly different environment, but audiences won’t find their eyes wandering too much given the impressive construction of each race shot. Zimmer’s music is positively reminiscent of his score for another racing movie, Rush, and enhances the scope and scale of each of these races. Technically, this film is a formidable feat, recreating a world that so many choose to enjoy but may not be quite as familiar to moviegoers, and it remains vividly interesting and compelling for the entirety of its more than two and a half hour runtime. Plot twists and surprises are rightfully sidelined in favor of what this film does best: delivering just the right kind of blockbuster experience that’s best enjoyed in a movie theater.
Movie Rating: 8/10
