F1
2025 | Dir. Joseph Kosinski | 156 Minutes
"If the last thing I do is drive that car, I will take that life, man."
2025 | Dir. Joseph Kosinski | 156 Minutes
"If the last thing I do is drive that car, I will take that life, man."
Racing savant Sonny Hayes joins a floundering Formula One team at risk of being sold unless the team scores a victory within the season.
From director Joseph Kosinski and screenwriter Ehrin Kruger, F1 is essentially a competently crafted big budget extended advertisement for the sport of Formula One racing. The picture stylishly captures the thrill of race car driving through slick camerawork and masterful sound design. However, the narrative decidedly takes a backseat to the razzle dazzle, resorting to blending the standard sports film genre tropes of the underdog story and the seasoned veteran taking one more shot at glory, with a plot that's ultimately too thematically similar to Kosinski and Kruger's previous collaboration on Top Gun: Maverick. The old rogue indisputably proves that he is better than the talented young rookie (more so than taking him under his wing, forget passing the torch), severely bends the rules of the sport to give his struggling team an edge over the competition, and even successfully woos the pretty head of engineering while he's at -- wish fulfillment tailor-made for middle-aged dudes.
The racing sequences in F1 are a sight to behold, with pristine cinematography that clearly showcases every decisive turn, intense pit stop, and the occasional harrowing crash. The production filmed on actual Formula One racecourses in all of their glossy majesty ostensibly for authenticity and naturally as a savvy vehicle for promoting the sport. Disappointingly, celebrated film composer Hans Zimmer's score for the feature is mostly forgettable.
In the lead role of Sonny Hayes, the preposterous "nomadic racer-for-hire" who assists others in winning championships for various racing sports, Brad Pitt is perfectly charming though Hayes' somewhat shallow character arc as it is on the page undermines any angsty depth Pitt attempts to bring to the role. Damson Idris does what he can with the rather thankless part of cocky up-and-coming racer and momma's boy Joshua Pearce, serving more as a weak foil to Hayes than as a worthy counterpart and teammate. As technical director Kate McKenna, Kerry Condon manages to convincingly go toe-to-toe with Pitt until the engineering genius all but completely succumbs to his charms. The supporting cast also features Javier Bardem the team's stressed-out owner, Tobias Menzies as a slimy investor in the team, and Sarah Niles as Joshua's loving mother.
Rote storytelling aside, F1 is a serviceable entertaining cinematic experience that delivers precisely calibrated crowd-pleasing moments. It's not a film that's particularly interested in challenging viewers. Instead, the picture opts to reaffirm the older folks in the audience who carry even a shred of doubt over whether or not they've "still got it" should they wish to live vicariously through the handsome movie star in his 60s outfoxing his significantly younger competitors on the racetrack.
FRAGMENTS
- This feels like it may as well have been intended to be a long-gap sequel to Days of Thunder that was reworked to be a Brad Pitt vehicle, particularly considering its similarities to Kosinski's Top Gun: Maverick
- In his 60s, it stretches credulity that Pitt could be a viable race car driver, though as a point of attractive movie star comparison, he looks a hell of a lot better in this than Sean Connery looked in his 40s starring in Diamonds Are Forever
- Kerry Condon also appears in 2026 Best Picture Academy Award Nominee Train Dreams
007 CONNECTIONS
- Javier Bardem (Raoul Silva in Skyfall)
MCU CONNECTIONS
- Kerry Condon (FRIDAY in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame)
- Sarah Niles (Lynne Nichols in The Fantastic Four: First Steps)
From director Joseph Kosinski and screenwriter Ehrin Kruger, F1 is essentially a competently crafted big budget extended advertisement for the sport of Formula One racing. The picture stylishly captures the thrill of race car driving through slick camerawork and masterful sound design. However, the narrative decidedly takes a backseat to the razzle dazzle, resorting to blending the standard sports film genre tropes of the underdog story and the seasoned veteran taking one more shot at glory, with a plot that's ultimately too thematically similar to Kosinski and Kruger's previous collaboration on Top Gun: Maverick. The old rogue indisputably proves that he is better than the talented young rookie (more so than taking him under his wing, forget passing the torch), severely bends the rules of the sport to give his struggling team an edge over the competition, and even successfully woos the pretty head of engineering while he's at -- wish fulfillment tailor-made for middle-aged dudes.
The racing sequences in F1 are a sight to behold, with pristine cinematography that clearly showcases every decisive turn, intense pit stop, and the occasional harrowing crash. The production filmed on actual Formula One racecourses in all of their glossy majesty ostensibly for authenticity and naturally as a savvy vehicle for promoting the sport. Disappointingly, celebrated film composer Hans Zimmer's score for the feature is mostly forgettable.
In the lead role of Sonny Hayes, the preposterous "nomadic racer-for-hire" who assists others in winning championships for various racing sports, Brad Pitt is perfectly charming though Hayes' somewhat shallow character arc as it is on the page undermines any angsty depth Pitt attempts to bring to the role. Damson Idris does what he can with the rather thankless part of cocky up-and-coming racer and momma's boy Joshua Pearce, serving more as a weak foil to Hayes than as a worthy counterpart and teammate. As technical director Kate McKenna, Kerry Condon manages to convincingly go toe-to-toe with Pitt until the engineering genius all but completely succumbs to his charms. The supporting cast also features Javier Bardem the team's stressed-out owner, Tobias Menzies as a slimy investor in the team, and Sarah Niles as Joshua's loving mother.
Rote storytelling aside, F1 is a serviceable entertaining cinematic experience that delivers precisely calibrated crowd-pleasing moments. It's not a film that's particularly interested in challenging viewers. Instead, the picture opts to reaffirm the older folks in the audience who carry even a shred of doubt over whether or not they've "still got it" should they wish to live vicariously through the handsome movie star in his 60s outfoxing his significantly younger competitors on the racetrack.
FRAGMENTS
- This feels like it may as well have been intended to be a long-gap sequel to Days of Thunder that was reworked to be a Brad Pitt vehicle, particularly considering its similarities to Kosinski's Top Gun: Maverick
- In his 60s, it stretches credulity that Pitt could be a viable race car driver, though as a point of attractive movie star comparison, he looks a hell of a lot better in this than Sean Connery looked in his 40s starring in Diamonds Are Forever
- Kerry Condon also appears in 2026 Best Picture Academy Award Nominee Train Dreams
007 CONNECTIONS
- Javier Bardem (Raoul Silva in Skyfall)
MCU CONNECTIONS
- Kerry Condon (FRIDAY in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame)
- Sarah Niles (Lynne Nichols in The Fantastic Four: First Steps)
