by Jake Bourgeois, Contributing Writer
Heading into summer blockbuster season, there were two films (that didn’t have the built in draw of being comic book films) whose big draw was the spectacle of seeing them on a big screen, and they came from both the major creative forces behind Top Gun: Maverick.
The first was Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, a film I found profoundly disappointing.
The second was director Joseph Kosinski’s followup, F1 … wait, it’s not F1 anymore? F1: The Movie? Really? Did they think we’d get it confused with an actual F1 race, or think it was secretly a musical or something? Anyway, stupid name aside, I was curious to find out if Kosinski would be able to match the spectacle.
And — perhaps somewhat ironically — my views on this movie mirror a lot of what I heard from those that took a more favorable view on The Final Reckoning: The pure spectacle manages to get it across the finish line.
The plot is pretty basic: Veteran racer who never lived up to his potential, Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) is coaxed out of retirement to by his former racing partner (Javier Bardem), leading a struggling Formula 1 team. The goal? Mentor a young and talented driver (Damson Idris), save the team, and get one final shot at the ultimate glory.
A lot was made in the leadup to the film’s release about how much the film was on site during race days, how it filmed on actual tracks, how they used cameras on the cars, and how it even had the great Lewis Hamilton help make the racing seem more realistic. And when the cars are on the track, it shows. There’s a kinetic energy, a tension to the way that the action is filmed that is adrenaline-pumping. It really helps the movie stand out from other racing films. Even as someone who’s never gotten drawn into the sport himself, the action was engaging. That’s due in no small part to the cooperation and collaboration between the filmmakers and F1, which allows for the access and the knowhow to make the set pieces truly shine. Are there some tradeoffs for moments where you feel like you’re watching an F1 ad? Sure, but much like in Top Gun: Maverick, it’s a tradeoff that pays off. As long as there’s an awareness of it, the pros far outweigh the cons.
However, I don’t mean to give the impression that the only thing the film has going for it is the action. I did enjoy the interplay between our main trio of Pitt, Idris, and Kerry Condon (in the role of the team’s technical director). Do they play the formula largely to a T? Yeah, but there’s enough within the interactions of the trio that I enjoyed. Pitt is largely the grizzled, maverick, veteran driver who pushes the young cocky kid to be his best, and exasperates Condon while simultaneously winning her over with his charm. Idris gets the chance to go on a true arc from cocky kid to someone who matures through butting heads with Pitt’s character. Though a mainstay on the show Snowfall, this was my introduction to Idris, who holds his own against more familiar names.
Meanwhile, I like what the story does with Condon as the only female technical director in F1. It gives her a chip on her shoulder, and I like how the film shows her slowly coming around to Sonny’s more unconventional methods. The main trio has a great come-to-Jesus moment over a game of poker that is probably my favorite moment that doesn’t take place on a racetrack.
Aside from them, the movie does a good job of giving us enough about other members of the team that things feel fleshed out a bit. Bardem gets just enough to do as the desperate team owner willing to call in a Hail Mary from an old friend, but it’s nowhere near his best. The rest of the team, particularly Callie Cooke and Abdul Salis, are great examples of showing how Sonny breaks down the team to be exactly what they need to succeed. (Even if it probably is unrealistic that they would go along with it, and a pit crew member would go from being a butterfingers to an all-world pit based off a brief pep talk).
However, the writing is also where the film’s biggest warts come through. There is, as previously mentioned, the fact that the characters are very much in their archetype boxes. Also, of all the film does to show us how capable Condon is, it bugs me that it feels the need to add the romantic plot line between her and Pitt. While there are some interesting things done at points with the archetypes, the characters are still very much that.
The biggest point where the writing fails is what I’m broadly going to label as its use of exposition through media. Whether it’s the track announcer, a press conference question, or good old-fashioned TV newsposition, this movie loves, loves, loves an exposition dump via media. Whether it’s constantly reminding us of Sonny’s past or reiterating for the millionth time how dire the straits the team is in are. As a non-racing fan, given my very limited understanding of F1, I’m guessing it’s highly unlikely for someone on a non-major team (like top two or three) to win a race at all. So the amount of time our track announcers spend on this down-on-their-luck team took me out a bit. I found myself wondering if non-football fans had a similar realization when watching Draft Day (a movie I allow myself to enjoy by just giving in to its unrealistic nature).
Overall, the spectacle the movie’s selling itself on is enough to keep me entertained, though I’ll be interested to see how it plays with the actual F1 fans, versus the moviegoers like me who are just in it for a fun time at the theater.
Rating: Liked It
F1: The Movie is currently playing in theaters
You can read more from Jake Bourgeois, and follow him on Bluesky and Letterboxd