FILM REVIEW: F1 – THE MOVIE (12A) ESP RATING: 3.5/5

This mega-budgeted F1 movie is Days of Thunder for the modern generation – which is no bad thing for a summer blockbuster.

Some of the plotlines even mirror that cult classic – and this may even achieve that status one day too.

And most importantly this is decently watchable fare – and isn’t as commercial as you’d probably expect.

Brad Pitt stars as nomadic ex-Formula One driver Sonny Hayes – having just done a stint in Nascar – who is tempted back to the elite sport by his old friend Ruben Cervantes (Skyfall villain Javier Bardem).

Ruben is the owner of the APX GP team, and looks to Hayes – who was once one of the most promising F1 drivers of the early nineties – to mentor their hotshot rookie driver Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris).

The only problem is they are half-way through the season – being rock bottom of the constructors championship without a point – and need to claim at least one win for the team to keep afloat.

We have all the seen the script before across multiple genres. Hayes and Pearce clash then find a mutual respect, Kerry Condon’s first F1 female director Kate McKenna is the love interest – a la Tom Cruise/Nicole Kidman in the aforementioned Days of Thunder – and Tobias Menzies’ Peter Banning is the dastardly board member looking to take control of the team, for his own greedy agenda. There’s nothing groundbreaking here in that sense.

But the production values are breathtakingly first class, with large chunks of racing being filmed at real circuits – from Silverstone to Monza, and from Las Vegas to Abu Dhabi – with driving personalities from the sport in background – from Max Verstappen to Lewis Hamilton (who also produces) – which impressively adds to the all-round consistent packaging.

If you’re a proper F1 fan, you’re no doubt in for an exhilarating treat. If not, then you’ll at the very least appreciate the grandiose spectacle that runs through the veins of this film.

On top of this, Pitt’s chiselled ‘battling his past demons’ veteran Hayes makes a likeable lead, and he has great chemistry with Condon and Idris – who both shine in their roles.

Coming from Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski, pretty much does for racing cars what he did for fighter jets – with some exceptional set-pieces – even though it is definitely more paint-by-numbers than his previous effort.

But as a whole this speeds along at a fast and enjoyable pace – it doesn’t ever really feel like its two-and-a-half hours runtime – and admirably ticks most of the right boxes. And doesn’t suck up to the F1 badge as much as expected too.

This is its own ‘beast’ – not a product-laden advert for the sport.

Which doesn’t quite leave it taking the chequered flag in first place – but gives it a  deserved place on the podium nevertheless, delivering a pleasantly surprising blockbuster Pitt-stop.

ESP Rating: 3.5/5

Gavin Miller

Showcase Cinema De Lux Peterborough & Odeon Luxe Peterborough, Out Now

Cast: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem, Tobias Menzies, Sarah Niles, Kim Bodnia, Abdul Salis, Callie Cooke, Shea Whigham & Lewis Hamilton

Running Time: 2 Hrs 36 Mins

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Film Review Venue: Showcase Cinema De Lux Peterborough

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