By: Kimberly Grant
Let’s face it. People are excited about F1®: The Movie because it’s about fast cars and Brad Pitt is in it. I get it. Both are exciting. Add to that Damson Idris and his overall swagger and it’s destined to be a hit movie.
F1®: The Movie will be in theaters on June 27.
The Movie
Written by Ehren Kruger and Joseph Kosinski (who also directed the film as well as Maverick), F1® is about a former Formula One driver, Sonny Hayes (played by Pitt), coming back to the sport that he loves in order to mentor a young driver, Joshua Pearce (Idris). This premise seems to be a mismatched buddy film for visual reasons and basically a Maverick with Pitt and fast cars. I just don’t think it does the job, though.
Sonny is a former gambler and alcoholic who prefers to sleep in his RV as he lives a nomadic life, one car race at a time. As he goes from city to city, he tries to recapture the love of racing that has been inherent in him since he was a child. Alas, Sonny is recruited by an old friend and APX owner, Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), who needs someone to help make Joshua better. Joshua is a cocky driver who has the potential to be in the top ten of the games. He just needs the right resources and guidance.
The Plot
This story starts on a good foot. The audience enjoys seeing Pitt with no shirt on. Idris provides a lot of eye candy, as well. His mother, Bernadette (Sarah Niles) is spicy herself as she attempts to guide her adult son. The plot falls flat toward the end of the movie, though.
There are concepts of a conflict in that Sonny and Joshua must work together to make it to Formula One. Then they have to, at least, make the top ten of racers to be celebrated by their peers. And, then their team, APX GP is in danger of being bankrupted and sold off to an opportunist named Peter Banning (Tobias Menzies).
If there were a stronger bond between Sonny and Joshua (or a stronger bond built over the course of the movie), then these weak conflicts wouldn’t feel so weak. What’s so great about buddy movies is that the building of the relationship takes center stage. Not so in F1®. It’s more like two and half hours of film where we get a lot of Pitt eye candy and some fast cars. The decision to make the F1® storyBrad Pitt-focused was not a good one. I get it. Pitt is an a-list actor and he has tremendous name recognition. But making it the Brad Pitt Races Cars movie feels like a disservice to Idris and Bardem.
The Timing
With the plot on shaking ground, F1® The Movie’s two and half hour run time just feels longer. Just before you get to the two hour mark, there’s a romantic scene that feels forced. And, then you still have more racing cars to go before the credits role. In fact, at the two hour mark is when I got a little bored with the movie and didn’t feel like seeing more racing.
All that said, F1® isn’t terrible. It’s a beautifully shot film with the exception of the lighting. For a film shot for IMAX I would assume that the lighting department would make sure that darker skin tones didn’t disappear into shadows.
There you have it. F1® The Movie is a decent film, but not great. If you love Formula One races and shirtless Brad Pitt, then you’re in for two and half hours of fun. If you’re wondering if it’s worth the cost of a movie ticket, you may want to watch this one at home.
It’s okay if you disagree with my review. You can read more movie opinions on my Entertainment Blog.
