F1 is a hotly anticipated Formula One racing drama from the team behind the ludicrously entertaining and almost universally adored Top Gun: Maverick: writer Ehren Kruger, director Joseph Kosinski, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
One of Maverick’s key strengths was that its exhilarating combination of realistic combat action and character drama was successful in in bringing in many new fans, earning enthusiastic reactions from viewers who either hadn’t seen or didn’t have any love for the original 1986 film.
F1 has an opportunity to accomplish a similar feat, hoping to pull in similar 4-quadrant mainstream success, and that will mean attracting viewers who aren’t necessarily fans of auto racing or, where American audiences are concerned, F1 racing. Bruckheimer already has some success in this department, with his 1990 hit Days of Thunder – though that film centered on stock-car racing, which is far more popular in the US than F1.
Offhand, I think it is pretty successful in its execution. I don’t have any particular interest in auto racing but the film is an exciting look at the world of F1, including its team dynamics, operational business, and of course intense racing action. Audiences who check this out will be rewarded with a true “big-screen” experience. As one might imagine referring back to Maverick and its intimate “cockpit view” style of shooting vehicular action, a similar aesthetic is used here in the auto racing.
The film’s protagonist is Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt in full movie star mode), a once promising race car driver whose career went off the rails. His former teammate Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), now the owner of an F1 team, invites Sonny to join his team, as he needs a veteran driver and mentor to support their main driver – Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), a young and cocky hotshot poised to be racing’s next big thing.
For Ruben, it’s a risky gamble, betting on his has-been friend – a decision that’s not welcomed by many of his team members.
Because this is a team sport. One thing that F1 emphasizes well is that at this level, drivers are supported by a whole organization – and other team members like mechanics and engineers are just as vital to that organization’s success.
Which brings us to the other key cast member, Kerry Condon as Kate, the team’s race director. In the racing equation of “car and driver”, if Sonny is the driver, then Kate represents the car. She’s in charge of the technical and mechanical side of things, and a great sparring partner (and love interest) who can go toe to to with our protagonist. I’m stoked to see her in a major role like this. I’ve been a big fan of Condon since first seeing her twenty years ago in Danny the Dog, and now coming off a well-deserved BAFTA win and Oscar nom for The Banshees of Inisherin, I hope we’ll see her in a lot more major roles like this.
At 2 and a half hours, F1 is not a short film, but never boring. With team drama, conflicts between the two drivers, a subplot of readying the car with a newly engineered part (which way more interesting that it might sound), and tons of racing action, it’s a pretty great time – though not, in my opinion, as charming or fun as Top Gun: Maverick.
I do want to give a special shout out to Sarah Niles (you might recognize her as the therapist from Ted Lasso), who plays Pearce’s mother. It’s a great supporting role which I hope doesn’t go unnoticed – I can’t imagine how difficult it might be to be the parent of a hotshot celebrity, but this character does it with love and support, and probably a little too much indulgence. But you get the sense that every time her son races, she worries it may be his last.
I think F1 fans will love the film’s intense racing action and procedural detail, and racing newbies won’t be lost – Sonny’s integration as a new but old-school member of a modern, top-tier F1 team provides for outsider perspective and natural exposition in the storytelling.
I don’t really have any particular criticisms except for one that comes a bit sideways – I felt pretty aware while watching the film that it (coincidentally, I’m sure) closely echoes several beats from the 2023 movie Gran Turismo.
Similarly, and more familiarly, viewers may be distracted by its parallels with Maverick, telling another story of a onetime hotshot who gets a midlife second chance to prove they’re still the best. (In this way, F1 almost feels like it could be a legasequel to a classic 90s actioner).
I’m excited for more from this creative team and hope they continue to make movies together, but next time I hope to see them move on from their “formula one”.
A/V Out
