F1 Movie Review

It is a shame to admit this, but I have not had the urge to write on my blog, as honestly, my recent trips to the cinema have been to see films that have not sparked the excitement to share my thoughts with you - until now. 

The summer blockbuster can easily be dismissed as mere popcorn entertainment, rather than a story with substance that can bring audiences together. The film, which defined this genre and showed cinema-goers that big screen entertainment can also deliver on heart, was Top Gun: Maverick. Director Joseph Kosinski has now returned with an even bigger endeavour, F1: The Movie, and dare I say it - it's his biggest adventure yet. 

With the technology created to film the aeroplane scenes in Maverick, it is a natural progression to use these cameras in an F1 racing car - another place many people would love to experience time in. Kosinski approached Brad Pitt, who stars in the film and serves as its executive producer, and is now becoming a creative partner. Kosinski has ideas for Pitt to reunite with Tom Cruise for the sequel to Days of Thunder, another iconic racing film. 

However, this venture is one of the biggest of Pitt's career so far, as he plays Sonny Hayes, an ageing race car driver who had a career-ending crash in F1 in the 1990s and is now a standby driver, living in his van and without a purpose. Then Ruben Cervantes, played by Javier Bardem, who has a past with Hayes, reenters his life and offers him a position in F1 against rookie driver Joshua Pearce, played by Damson Idris. There is a tale of the young and old between the two drivers, as Hayes has not competed in F1 in thirty years, and his old-school traditions are outdated in the new age of driving, which causes friction between the two drivers. 

The film also delivers on supporting performances, all of which are there to elevate Pitt's story from underdog to potentially F1 favourite. Tobias Menzies plays Peter Banning, a scheming board member who knows nothing about driving but is the money behind the scheme, and if Hayes were to win, it would save Cervantes' position. Also, Kerry Condon, known for her role in The Banshees of Inisherin, plays Kate McKenna, the first woman to hold the position of technical director for F1 and a love interest for Pitt in a taboo romance. 

The star of the film, however, is the racing scenes, which not only bring you to the edge of your seat but also drive the story along, no pun intended. As Hayes is the underdog in this story, you see that every time he gets into that seat, he grows in confidence and strives to achieve what he felt back in the 1990s, when the car feels like it's flying, and it goes quiet, as he details to McKenna. 

It delivers in every way, and as I mentioned at the beginning, as soon as I saw it, I wanted to put my thoughts to electronic paper and share them with you all, as I truly loved this. In retrospect, the plot is traditional and straightforward for a sports movie, telling a true rags-to-riches story that ends with a win. However, it exceeds every aspect of the story, including the acting, cinematography, and the score, excellently composed by Hans Zimmer, which elevates every scene it features in. It also does the impossible, and doesn't alienate the audience. If you know nothing about F1, it is a film that everyone can enjoy, and that is what you need this summer at the cinema.