In the week before its theater-wide release on June 27, F1: The Movie made its New York premiere, and the subsequent reviews from critics have been almost unanimously positive. Director Joseph Kosinski’s revved-up racing movie set within the cutthroat world of Formula 1 start Brad Pitt and Damson Idris, a veteran driver and a promising rookie who, despite being teammates, are embroiled in a bitter rivalry, at least as depicted in movie trailers.
At a glance, the 87 percent from 70 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes tells would-be theatergoers that the Lewis Hamilton-produced film may very well be worthy of a Champagne shower atop the racing flick podium. But for those who want to want to go little deeper, here are some takeaways excerpted from early reviews:
The Hollywood Reporter‘s arts and culture critic Lovia Gyarkye wrote in her review, “The strongest scenes in F1, which boasts a two-and-a-half hour runtime, are these moments during race weekends, when Kosinki embeds his fictional team with real ones. Fans of the sport will recognize cameos from Verstappen, Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, Lando Norris and many more drivers. Hans Zimmer’s adrenalized score ups the ante, adding tension to already nail-biting moments like a driver making a dangerous turn on a slick course or mechanics in the pit having mere seconds to switch out a car’s tires. The impressive craft of these scenes extends to Kosinki’s exploration of the various technologies, like road simulators, used to help drivers gain any advantage. Of course, there are some unrealistic elements in F1, moments that might have sticklers raising an eyebrow, but the film doesn’t feel any less dramatic than the real thing.”
Ross Bonaime, with Collider, wrote in his review, “Despite the excitement and stunning race footage that F1 provides, it’s also placed in a story that we’ve heard countless times before. And while that’s in no way damning here — not by a long shot — it is a bit silly at times in how much it plays in the clichés. Like a good racer, you’ll probably be able to tell where every turn and twist is going to go, yet it’s the quality and impressive nature in which F1 hits these turns that puts this in conversation for the best racing film ever made. When the excitement and tension of the races are as good as they are here, you can ignore a bit of canned dialogue or a goofy trope that has played itself out one too many times.”
The Guardian‘s Peter Bradshaw wrote, “With that amused-cowpoke face of his squashed into his safety helmet, making his sixtysomething cherubic chops bulge in towards his nose, Brad Pitt gets behind the wheel in this outrageously cheesy but fiercely and extravagantly shot Formula One melodrama. Along with a lot of enjoyable hokum about the old guy mentoring the rookie hothead (a plot it broadly shares with Pixar’s 2006 adventure Cars), F1 the Movie gives you the corporate sheen, real-life race footage with Brad as the star in an unreasonably priced car, the tech fetish of the cars themselves (almost making you forget how amazingly ugly they are) with brand names speckling every square inch of every surface, the simulation graphics writ large, and the bizarre occult spectacle of motor racing itself.”
David Fear, with Rolling Stone, wrote in his review, “The way that Pitt injects his presence, his physicality, his charm, his well-honed screen persona, his particular mix of discipline and DGAF effortlessness, and his backhanded way of making outdated, Golden Age Hollywood roguishness feel completely somehow timeless is what makes this a winner. He even manages to upstage the cars. It’s a turn that reminds you of Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, Burt Lancaster, William Holden, and, notably Steve McQueen, no stranger to movies about racing. (It can’t be a coincidence that one of Hayes’ Zen-like pastimes is throwing a ball against a wall like McQueen in The Great Escape.) F1 couldn’t feel more contemporary in its focus over a sport that’s the current obsession of millions, yet couldn’t feel more like a flashback to a bygone age where a larger-than-life movie star was the only necessary I.P. This is what blockbusters used to look like. Come for the most impressive, lustrous car that a gajillion-dollar budget can buy. The reason to stay, however, is the driver.
Consequence‘s Liz Shannon Miller opined, “The good news is that fans of the sport—old-timers as well as recent Drive to Survive converts alike—will feel electrified just by the big-screen spectacle of it all. To borrow some parlance that I now feel qualified to wield, this is a movie that hits a few skids, but does at least finish the race. And after watching this movie, you understand how much an achievement just finishing is.
Watch the final trailer for F1: The Movie below:
