Don Reviews "F1: The Movie"

One of the things on our bucket list is to go to a professional auto race and are actually planning to go to the next race at the Texas Motor Speedway.  Although that track is known for NASCAR, it also hosts Formula 1 Racing, which has a global fanbase of 750 million people worldwide and is the most popular annual sporting series on the planet.  With the release of F1: The Movie, there will be comparisons to other racing films like Days of Thunder, but is that fair?

Jospeh Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick) directs this one with Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, and Tobias Menzies bringing the story to life.  Sonny Hayes (Pitt) is a talented race driver, but for the last thirty years, he has been wasting his talent through bad decisions. A past acquaintance named Ruben (Bardem) reaches out, asking him to join the struggling F1 racing team that he owns.  He also wants him to mento a new hot shot talent named Joshua Pearce (Idris), who would also be his teammate.  From there, the crew and drivers need to save not only their season but also their team altogether.

Honestly, this is a strange film to review because even though I liked it overall, there are just a few things that bothered me.  I was lucky enough to screen this film in IMAX, which did add to my enjoyment with an overwhelming level of visuals, and there were moments where I felt like I was in the car driving in the race myself.  The magic Kosinski was able to have from Top Gun: Maverick definitely continues with this film, and the use of multiple locations across the globe was very good, adding to the allure of the sport.

Pitt, Bardem, and Idris do well with great chemistry with Pitt having that great veteran and mentor to Idris and at the same time have the friendship and lifeline to Bardem.  I was really impressed with the performance of Bardem specifically as a man who truly cares and will do anything to save the team even if it means sacrificing himself; the type of guy you would do anything you could to give a helping hand.

The issue I have with F1: The Movie lies in its length.  The script is good, but at over two and a half hours, it did feel a little long.  It just seemed that some things could have been taken out, but I am also having a hard time trying to figure out which specific scenes could have been left on the cutting room floor.  The other issue I have is some of the unrealistic visual pazazz and glitz, which were not really needed needed.  I would rather have a more realistic showing of the behind the scenes stuff in F1 racing than the overdone visual glam.  I like this film, but did not love it; however, I will still defiantly recommend F1:The Movie as to be seen on a weekend afternoon IMAX screening.