SPOILER-FREE PLOT SUMMARY
Washed up race car driver Sonny Hayes (played by Brad Pitt) is given another chance to get behind the wheel when long-time friend — and former competitor — Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardeem) persuades him to be the second driver on his APXGP Formula 1 racing team. After Hayes reluctantly accepts, his confidence-through-experience comes into conflict with the arrogance-through-youth of the lead driver, rookie Noah Pearce (Damson Idris). But, just when they finally start working together as a team, Noah consciously ignores Sonny’s advice and it results in failure and injury. The Apex team attempts to rally so they can save Ruben’s ownership title from the Board of Directors that wants to replace him.
SPOILER-FREE REVIEW
F1® THE MOVIE has all the right elements: a great cast, an experienced director, a unique setting, an underdog story, etc. So why is there such an “empty calorie” feeling when you leave the theater?
It’s because this is a 90’s movie made 30 years later.
Don’t get me wrong, this is an adrenaline-filled ride (especially in IMAX or Dolby) with great performances, stellar visuals and a fun premise but, holy crap, we’ve seen this story before. A veteran of the sport rivals with a brash rookie, the veteran teaches the rookie some things, the rookie surprisingly teaches the veteran some things, one of them gets the girl who’s playing hard to get and the team has success. It’s a completely cliche script that relies on the insane Oscar-worthy cinematography.
Is this worth seeing in the theaters? Absolutely. Is it a compelling story? Not at all. Go see F1® THE MOVIE so your brain can chew on some delicious sensory candy for a couple hours. It’ll taste real good… until you find yourself hungry a couple hours later.
JKG SCORE: 6.5
Untitled Film Project 