Carl Roberts 
“Despite some incredible race sequences and a powerhouse performance from Brad Pitt, F1: The Movie cannot overcome the glaring cliches it contains”
The highly anticipated Formula One feature film “F1:TheMovie,” starring Brad Pitt, is now in cinemas. Joseph Kosinski directed the film, which was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Plan B Entertainment. Dawn Apollo Films, owned by seven-time F1 world champion Sir Lewis Hamilton, is behind the film. In collaboration with Formula 1®, this film immerses viewers in the exhilarating and cinematic world of F1, featuring filming at various races on the sport’s calendar.
Kosinski (“Top Gun: Maverick”) directs and produces the feature alongside Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Oman of Jerry Bruckheimer Films. And Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner for Plan B Entertainment. And Lewis Hamilton under his Dawn Apollo Films banner. The film has been produced in partnership with Formula 1® and the F1 community. Encompassing the 10 F1 teams, their drivers, the FIA, and race promoters. Academy Award-nominee Ehren Kruger (“Top Gun: Maverick”) writes the screenplay. Copper CEO Penni Thow serves as executive producer.
PREMISE
The feature film follows a racing team during actual Grand Prix weekends as they compete against the giants of the sport. Sonny Hayes, played by Brad Pitt, is a Formula One driver who raced in the 1990s. After suffering a terrible crash, he is forced to retire from Formula One and explore other racing disciplines. A friend and Formula One team owner, Ruben, portrayed by Javier Bardem, reaches out to Hayes, asking him to come out of retirement to mentor rookie prodigy Joshua “Noah” Pearce, played by Damson Idris, for the Apex Grand Prix team (APXGP).
THOUGHTS
The film’s many racing sequences, especially those of the principal stars in the cockpits and driving the cars, are incredible. The audience can get the thrill of the motorsport by watching it up on the screen. I saw the film in IMAX and can confirm these sequences look fantastic. The film also boasts a powerhouse performance from Brad Pitt, which elevates the film brilliantly. With a supporting cast featuring Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, and Javier Bardem, brilliant direction from Joseph Kosinski, with a screenplay written by Ehren Kruger, and a heart-pounding score from Hans Zimmer, the film crosses the finish line in first place, right?
Wrong. Despite everything the film has going for it, it is so full of cliches that it never lives up to its potential. Anyone expecting the quintessential Formula One movie will leave disappointed. That’s not to say the film is bad because it is far from it. There is enough exhilarating action and spectacle on show to keep speed junkies sated. Sadly, the typical cliches that films of this ilk contain are glaringly abundant here. The former hero returning to make good, the brash upstart who thinks he knows it all, the love interest and the friend who needs help. They are all here, dragging the film down from what by rights should be an epic for the ages into an also-ran. We feel slightly cheated and empty when the chequered flag comes into sight.
DIGITALLY DE-AGEING
The film contains some digital de-ageing of both Pitt and Bardem. This is also hit-and-miss. A magazine cover featuring the pair elicits sniggers from the audience; that’s how bad it is. However, the footage of a de-aged Pitt is pretty good. The film uses footage of a young blond Pitt from his younger years and films to recreate Sonny as a young man. These scenes are extremely believable, giving the film credence it barely deserves.
BRAD PITT
Brad Pitt gives a powerhouse performance in the lead as Sonny. In every scene he appears in, we can’t take our eyes off the actor. Sometimes jokey, sometimes serious, and sometimes downright crazy, Pitt’s portrayal of Sonny is sublime. The actor portrays every emotion he needs to on screen, making the character a memorable one. No one can get close to the prowess he displays here. Although they try, they can’t match what Pitt puts into the role and his persona in the film.
DAMSON IDRIS
Damson Idris as Joshua Pearce, a hotshot rookie who drives for APXGP and becomes Sonny’s teammate and main rival, is outstanding. Pearce is trying to make a name for himself in the Formula One world, but thanks to the car and his inexperience, he can’t finish a race. His hostility towards Sonny is evident from the start, something Sonny can’t help but poke fun at. Pearce also comes across as arrogant, not caring about the team, only making himself look good. After a ruckus between him and Sonny, he poses for the cameras like a model on a catwalk. Deep down, he genuinely cares, but his outgoing attitude doesn’t fully reflect this. After a serious accident that almost kills him, he blames Sonny for it.
That is, until he discovers the truth and realises Sonny is trying to help him. Idris excels in his role, showcasing his talent to the world. And who would have thought he and Sir Lewis Hamilton could be serious rivals, making the seven-time Formula One World Champion come across as the villain?
KERRY CONDON AND TOBIAS MENZIES
Kerry Condon as Kate McKenna, the APXGP technical director, is also exceptional. Of course, she has the obligatory backstory about a failed marriage, but that hardly holds the actress back. She isn’t here to make up the numbers or become the love interest for Sonny (although she does, of course), but Kerry Condon gives her all as a tough woman, a wise woman, who is competing in the world of men who, outside of her team, don’t see her as a threat. Her character is richly written, allowing the actress to breathe, spread her wings and give an outstanding performance. And her no-nonsense attitude throughout is refreshing to see.
Tobias Menzies as Peter Banning, a member of the APXGP board of directors, who wants Ruben to sell APXGP to other interests, is wonderfully slimy. Banning is the proverbial backstabber, smiling to your face while attempting to plunge the dagger into you. He is a snake in human form, trying every trick in the book to get his hands on the team and turn it into what he wants, even going so far as to offer Sonny a colossal sum of money if he turns against Ruben. Menzies plays his role well, even though it’s the token villain role in a way, and nothing we haven’t seen before.
JAVIER BARDEM
Javier Bardem as Ruben Cervantes, APXGP team owner and former F1 driver who is Sonny’s friend and former teammate, almost steals the film out from under Brad Pitt. Almost. Given the same amount of screentime as Pitt, Bardem could possibly have been the best thing in the movie. As it is, we once again get to marvel at what the actor has in his acting locker. No matter what role you put him in, Bardem is lovable, never failing to give everyone around him an acting masterclass. Here, he is on best friend duties, becoming the glue that holds the film together so well. The scenes between him and Pitt are the highlight of the movie, after the racing sequences.
THE REAL FORMULA ONE TALENT
The film benefits from cameos from some of the biggest names in Formula One. These legendary names are:
Max Verstappen, two-time World Drivers’ Champion from the Netherlands, driver for Red Bull Racing
Sergio Pérez from Mexico, driver for Red Bull Racing
Charles Leclerc from Monaco, driver for Scuderia Ferrari
Carlos Sainz Jr. from Spain, driver for Scuderia Ferrari
Oliver Bearman from the United Kingdom, driver for Scuderia Ferrari and Haas
George Russell from the United Kingdom, driver for Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton, seven-time World Drivers’ Champion from the United Kingdom, driver for Mercedes
Esteban Ocon from France, driver for Alpine
Pierre Gasly from France, driver for Alpine
Lando Norris from the United Kingdom, driver for McLaren
Oscar Piastri from Australia, driver for McLaren
Valtteri Bottas from Finland, driver for Alfa Romeo
Zhou Guanyu from China, driver for Alfa Romeo
Fernando Alonso, two-time World Drivers’ Champion from Spain, driver for Aston Martin
Lance Stroll from Canada, driver for Aston Martin
Kevin Magnussen from Denmark, driver for Haas
Nico Hülkenberg from Germany, driver for Haas
Daniel Ricciardo from Australia, driver for AlphaTauri
Yuki Tsunoda from Japan, driver for AlphaTauri
Liam Lawson from New Zealand, driver for AlphaTauri
Alexander Albon from Thailand, driver for Williams
Logan Sargeant from the United States, driver for Williams
Franco Colapinto from Argentina, driver for Williams
Formula One personnel who appear in the film include:
Stefano Domenicali, CEO of Formula One Group
Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren
Christian Horner, team principal and CEO of Red Bull Racing
Guenther Steiner, then-team principal of Haas
Lawrence Stroll, owner of Aston Martin and father of Lance Stroll
Frédéric Vasseur, team principal of Scuderia Ferrari
James Vowles, team principal of Williams
Toto Wolff, team principal, CEO and co-owner of MercedesSky Sports F1 commentators Martin Brundle and David Croft provide commentary for races depicted in the film. Cameo appearances include three-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Benoît Tréluyer, motorsport presenter Will Buxton and Lewis Hamilton’s dog Roscoe.
WRITING AND DIRECTION
The direction from Joseph Kosinski is assured. The director leverages his experience in making motion pictures like this to tremendous effect. After his sterling work on Top Gun: Maverick, Kosinski doubles down here. His framing, use of landscapes, locations, and especially the racing scenes, are beyond reproach. You thought seeing fighter planes streak through the air was fast? Wait until you are seated virtually in the cockpit of a Formula One car, speeding around the tracks around the world. Kosinski excels here. This is the closest we will ever come to experiencing what it’s like inside one of these cars racing around a track somewhere. We feel we are not watching a race; we feel like we are actually participating.
The screenplay, written by Ehren Kruger and based on a story by the two, is where the problems lie. What could and should have been the Formula One that can’t be beaten, it is clichéd from the start. The usual tropes are wheeled out once again. At times, we feel we are watching a bigger, longer version of Days Of Thunder. Again, like this film, it had moments of real standout quality. But it was let down by some poor writing choices. For once, Kruger’s writing is let down by the use of the cliches that pepper the film.
VERDICT
Despite some incredible race sequences and a powerhouse performance from Brad Pitt, F1: The Movie cannot overcome the glaring cliches it contains. And that is a shame because it could have and should have been so much better. There is more than enough here that should have made it the quintessential, go-to Formula One movie, a racing film for the ages. Instead, it comes across as laboured at times, struggling with the weight that’s on its shoulders. While the racing sequences are worth the admission price alone, three or four times over, it can’t paper over the cracks that the film shows as it speeds towards its fast and inevitable climax.
The film is enjoyable, despite its faults. It is certainly ambitious enough to succeed, and should rightly do so. There is much to like here, so much to admire, and to be blown away by. The film will undoubtedly leave the audience in awe. The spectacle on the screen is more than enough to take their collective breaths away. It is a shame that the film falls into familiar territory and predictability. That is a shame; the film shouldn’t be predictable. It should leave the audience concerned about what will happen to the characters and how it will all end. Instead, we can predict and see how the film will end from a quarter of the way through. For spectacle, F1: The Movie gets a worthy pole position. As entertainment, it is very much in the middle of the grid.
F1: The Movie is in cinemas now, courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures and Apple Original Films.
Introducing Carl! As the News Editor at Future of the Force, Carl has been an invaluable member of our team since early 2016. His expertise and dedication have made him an integral part of our editorial staff. Beyond his professional role, Carl is a fervent supporter of Liverpool F.C. and an avid follower of pop culture. He has a deep passion for Halloween, Friday the 13th, and the iconic movie franchises Star Wars and Star Trek.
He can be found either at his neighborhood cinema, enjoying the latest releases on the big screen, or at home streaming the newest blockbuster movies.
