F1: The Movie (3 stars out of 4)
“F1: The Movie” feels like a marriage between two cinematic objectives. The first is to give audiences the approximate experience of driving a Formula One racecar at 200mph. The second is to tie the race sequences together with enough of a story to make it feel meaningful.
Joseph Kosinski’s film is more successful at the first goal than the second, but overall “F1” is a fun and bombastic action-drama that will give moviegoers enough thrill to justify a run to the closest IMAX theater.
Aside from the racing sequences, “F1’s” greatest strength is Brad Pitt, who plays the film’s protagonist with a world-weary charm. In a set-up that will feel familiar to anyone who saw Robert Redford in “The Natural,” Pitt plays Sonny Hayes, a not-quite washed up race driver who comes back for one last shot at immortality after thirty years out of the game.
This opportunity comes via his old friend and competitor Ruben (Javier Bardem), who is running a back of the pack F1 team about $350 million in debt. In a desperate attempt to stay solvent, Ruben recruits Sonny as a second driver behind the team’s flashy up-and-comer, Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris). Together, they have nine races left in the season to ward off financial oblivion.
Naturally, there’s competitive tension between the arrogant young Joshua and Sonny, who was never known for being a good teammate even before he became the grumpy old man of his sport. Sonny’s ideas also rankle the team’s lead engineer Kate (Kerry Condon), whose destiny in the film couldn’t be more obvious if someone wrote “love interest” on her forehead with a sharpie.
Kosinski and writer Ehren Kruger do their best to add some twists and turns to the story (sometimes literally), but there’s never a sense that “F1” is anything other than a chance to showcase the high-speed sport on the big screen. And between some low-angle camera shots and a soundtrack packed with classic rock and engine noise, the time in the driver’s seat more than delivers.
The one weakness of the racing sequences comes from the challenge of translating Formula One into movie form. On the surface, racing is as simple as being the first car across the finish line, but “F1” tries to dive into the nuance, strategy, and technicalities of the popular sport, which often translates into clunky exposition from a corny and distracting PA announcer.
But in spite of its weaknesses, “F1” is a brash and loud summer blockbuster that is more than capable of handling its load as a summer 2025 tentpole; it’s definitely a movie you want to see in the best conditions possible, if only because spectacle is its greatest asset.
It’s no all-timer, and as a follow-up to Kosinski’s spectacular “Top Gun: Maverick,” it could even be considered a let-down. But it’s also an original IP with a familiar face behind the wheel and enough excitement to overlook its flaws. “F1: The Movie” is not a perfect film, but it’s perfect for the summer of 2025.
“F1: The Movie” is rated PG-13 for scenes of action and mayhem, as well as scattered profanity and some mild sexual content.