F1 THE MOVIE

God we needed this…. so bad as film lovers.

F1 is this anomaly of a film in a movie studio universe, that checks off all the boxes on what some of us call “a Four Quadrant Movie”. The crowd I saw this with was an eclectic mix of anyone and everyone - a group of fellas in their late 50s and 60s, dressed as if they had just come from Montreal’s F1 event. Teenagers, both male and female, who have clearly become absorbed by the sport of F1 thanks to Netflix’s hit series Drive to Survive. There were the 30 something year old males like my best friend Wes and I. But most importantly in my humble opinion, the 25+ year old crowd of women like my wife and the ladies sitting beside me, who were there to pine over Brad Pitt in a fast car.

Note to Reader - Brad Pitt still gets female butts in seats, trust me. I witnessed it tonight.

But when you are able to write and produce such a rollercoaster ride of a film that is both palatable and fun for all - that my friends, is your key to box office success. I hope my gut is right as I write about F1 because if tonight’s IMAX screening that I attended was any indicator as to how huge this movie is going to be, Warner Bros and Apple have struck gold with what is undoubtedly the blockbuster movie event of the summer.

F1 takes us the viewer directly into the driver seat of the world’s fastest cars and introduces us to the fictional character of Sonny Hayes. Dubbed "the greatest that never was," Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) was FORMULA 1's most promising phenom of the 1990s until an accident on the track nearly ended his career. Thirty years later, he's a nomadic racer-for-hire when he's approached by his former teammate Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), owner of the struggling FORMULA 1 team APX GP that is on the verge of collapse. Ruben convinces Sonny to come back to his team for one last shot at saving the team and being the best in the world.

F1 may come off to some as formulaic or recycled to some in terms of its plot, but following a storytelling mould is not a bad thing.

Writer Ehren Kruger has now knocked it out of the park two times in a row now, with 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick being one of the highest grossing films of all-time and one of my consistent rewatches. Kruger is clearly a fan of the sport and although some civil liberties are taken in terms of storytelling and rule bending compared to actual Formula 1 racing and strategy, that’s okay for the Gen Pop folk like you and I because it is seamless, harmless and never took away from the enjoyability of the story or the quality of the racing action.

Admittedly I know nothing about the sport…or the science….or well, really anything about Formula 1 racing and you probably don’t either. Other than some familiar faces and names like Verstappen, Hamilton and Sainz, all of whom play roles in the film as themselves and the brands like Ferrari and Red Bull; McLaren and Mercedes that all dominate the sport, seeing Kruger intertwine them into the fictional APX GP’s racing dreams was a pleasant and fun mix-up of fiction and non-fiction. And as I mentioned, because I don’t understand the sport or science much, I don’t care…. I’m just there to be entertained. Mission Accomplished.

(Mr. Kruger, if you’re reading this, which you probably won’t - we, the general population forgive you for writing three awful Transformers movies. Top Gun and F1 have become your ‘get out of jail free’ cards. God Speed, sir.)

Moving on!

Director Joseph Kosinski once again takes IMAX cameras to their most extreme complete capabilities and just like his last outing with writer Kruger - Top Gun: Maverick - Kosinski does not hesitate, strapping you into the driver's seat with impeccable driving choreography and racing sequences. My biggest worry about this movie was my wondering if the racing sequences would make us, the viewer, get motion sickness on the IMAX screen. The initial trailer I saw was a bit jarring a while back. But once that adrenaline skyrocketed and the hum of the engines in that theatre hit my eardrums, it became impossible to take my eyes off the screen and it became one of the most subversive and amazing IMAX experiences I’ve ever had. It’s a film that begs to be seen only in IMAX.

Kosinski is becoming to go-to guy in Hollywood for these fast paced, edge of your seat action movies, and unlike the Nolans or Villeneuves, he knows what kind of film he wants to make. The kind that anyone, young or old can go see and just turn their brain off to - AND THAT’S A GOOD THING. We need films like this. Entertaining, not overly complex and as I said, palatable. His name isn’t putting butts in seats like a Nolan (yet). Instead its reliability in his capabilities as a director, so whatever may come next, I know I’ll be there opening night.

Which leads me to my last point and a shining example of how to build a cast for a film. Lucy Bevan, you wonderful casting director you, my dear take your bow because this is how to do it.

For a two and a half hour long film to work, you gotta have chemistry amongst your cast and this cast has that ten fold. Whether it’s Brad Pitt's never wavering leading man charm, his comedic back and forth with Javier Bardem’s Ruben, Oscar Nominee Kerry Condon’s feisty yet sexy appeal as the brains of the racing operation or Damson Idris’ sway from cocky prick to likeable youngen, each and every one of these character puzzle pieces fit perfectly together. It becomes such a fun, cohesive film to watch even when they are not on the race track, that it allows the film to not feel like it drags on over its 2.5 hour runtime.

I knew from the opening of the film's tune of choice, Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love, everyone was in for a good time and F1 did not disappoint. In a world of IP’s like Marvel that feel oversaturated, or the constant barrage of remakes we get, F1 feels different. Sure, it utilizes a brand we are all relatively familiar with but it puts together an original story that all can cheer for while exploiting its visual medium so that all can be mesmerized by it. F1 really does feel like a return to the cinema in all the right ways.