F1: The Movie
F1: The Movie is playing in theaters at the time of writing. Rated PG-13. Common Sense says 12+.
A Formula One driver (Brad Pitt) comes out of retirement to mentor and team up with a younger driver (Damson Idris).
STORY: D
Lack of stakes drives the story off course.
The best sports stories are always about more than the team. Hoosiers’s Milan HS carried its small town’s dreams on their backs. The US hockey team in Miracle wasn’t just fighting the Soviet hockey team; they were fighting the Cold War.
On paper, the story of a desperate team bringing back a racer with a checkered past sounds compelling enough. On screen, the conflict merely simmers, never rising to a riveting boil. It’s just not terribly important to anyone other than the main characters.
PEOPLE: D
Too many poor performances to be a coincidence.
The film suffers from Star Wars syndrome: a condition where a group of extremely talented actors never climbs past a cliche-level interpretation of their characters. It seems director Joseph Kosinski chooses to emphasize action and style over substance.
FILM NERD STUFF: A-
Great cinematography plus fast cars equals unforgettable thrills.
This is why, despite all its shortcomings, you still need to go see this movie on the big screen. The speedy cocktail of upclose camerawork, rapid fire editing, and “How’d they even do that?!” camera angles somehow manages to squeeze you right into the tight cockpit with the drivers.
ONE BIG LESSON: C-
Don’t build a resume; build a life.
Here’s how this film made me feel while I watched it:
It felt like going on a date with somebody who worked hard to create a killer dating profile (full of pics showing that they worked out hard at the gym, had an interesting job that paid pretty well, lived in a great apartment with an adorable dog, etc.) and thought that was enough.
A great profile can get you a date, but it doesn’t make you a good date.
Putting Brad Pitt (and Kelly Condon and Javier Bardem and Damson Idris) in your movie and stuffing it full of tropes we’ve seen in other successful sports movies will definitely get butts in the seats. But will those butts want a second date?
Ultimately, as in dating, we fall for a film’s heart and not for its resume.
FINAL COMMENTS:
To be fair, you may not be looking for an unforgettable story or a transformative cinematic experience. That’s great. To keep my dating metaphor rolling, sometimes we’re just looking for a fun time.
It’s never going to be carved onto the Mt. Rushmore of sports movies. But if you’re looking for thrills that can only be found on the big screen, F1: The Movie will not disappoint. It’s a fabulous movie theater movie.