F1 | Film Review

 

30 years after an accident derailed his racing career, Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) returns to racing alongside rookie hotshot Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris).

This film wasn't really on my radar until I saw that it was being favourably compared to Ford v Ferrari, which I like more each time I rewatch it.

I liked this film.

All of the characters had great introductions - we get to know and care about them really quickly, which lasts for the entirety of the film.

You don't have to be particularly interested in driving, racing or F1 to enjoy the film, because the characters are enjoyable in themselves. But I would guess that any lovers of F1 will really love this story.

Saying that, if you're not into the driving, then those scenes might not be of any interest to you - but the more character-driven scenes are entertaining enough on their own.

Pitt and Idris have great chemistry. The entire cast is great (the film also stars Kerry Condon and Javier Bardem amongst a great supporting cast) but those two are the complete standouts and play off of each other so well.

The chemistry between the entire cast is authentic and believable.

There are parts of the plot that felt repetitive - we're playing with the same ideas over and over again.

And while I enjoyed the characters and cared about them, I didn't feel connected enough to believe that their victories were mine, and that's important in a film where competition is a main theme.

As enjoyable as the film is, it doesn't need to be 2.5 hours long. Despite being about racing, some of these scenes could have been cut down to make for a more digestible runtime.

Overall I liked this film and would recommend it, especially if you're a fan of F1 and racing but even if you're not. The characters are interesting enough to drive the plot by themselves.

6.5/10