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Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Euronews Culture's Film of the Week: 'F1 The Movie' - if ‘Top Gun: Maverick' was in the pits
Stop me if you've seen this one before... A talented, reckless loner who has seen better days gets coaxed out of retirement for one last ride. Along the way, he'll butt heads with a cocky whippersnapper who still has plenty to learn. And wouldn't you know it, the initial frostiness between the two hunky men melts into mutual respect, and the grouchy veteran ends up learning something too as he finally walks into the sunset, having become richer for the experience. Yeah, that's what we're working with for this Apple Original, Lewis Hamilton-produced sports film which yearns to be an old-school, high-octane celebration of Formula One. To be fair, in this respect, F1 – or should that be, F1® The Movie, for algorithmic purposes you understand - succeeds. However, as a high stakes drama featuring three dimensional characters and a decent script that isn't just an excuse for cramming in as much product placement as humanly possible and showing off quite to what extent Brad Pitt still looks like a Greek God aged 61, F1® The Movie is a broadly enjoyable but soulless blockbuster that passes the time providing you like your macho loners roguish and watching cars go vroom vroom vroooooom. You really can't fault them for trying. Following the success of Netflix's hit documentary series Formula One: Drive To Survive, making a big budget ad with a sponsors-pleasing trademark symbol in the title seems like a sure-fire way to get bums in theatre seats. But when you have a reported $300 million budget to play with, the least anyone could have done was chuck a few quid in the direction of the writer's room. In F1® The Movie, we follow how veteran driver Sonny Hayes (Pitt) is tempted back by former teammate Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem, charming as ever) to get behind the wheel of an F1 car, as a last-ditch attempt to save his flagging APXGP team from being sold by the shareholders. Along for the ride is Joshua Pearce (Damon Idris), a talented rookie in dire need of a mentor, and the team's technical director, Kate McKenna (standout Kerry Condon), who is tasked with turning the 'shitbox' car into a 'combat' machine. At least she's an age-appropriate love interest, because we all know where this leads. The team have nine races leading to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to turn it all around and show quite to what extent the world of Formula One is really terrific and not at all a problematic sport like so many others, la la la we can't hear you. Director Joseph Kosinski, cinematographer Claudio Miranda and screenwriter Ehren Kruger, who previously collaborated on 2022's Top Gun: Maverick, are all reunited here to... well, do much of the same. Except this time, it's with Brad Pitt and not Tom Cruise. To their credit, Kosinski and Miranda manage to shoot cars like they did planes, and make the racing scenes immersive. By using shooting on real circuits with the full co-operation of the organisers and using new, smaller IMAX cameras that sit on the cars, this will be the closest you'll get to living the F1 experience. The Easter egg cameos from real F1 pilots like Max Verstappen and Hamilton also add an air of authenticity to the proceedings. The weak link is Kruger, whose formulaic screenplay underserves the talent and resumes itself to: macho bravado is great, and lines like: "I'm just as bad as I used to be" and 'Do we have the car?' / 'We have THE DRIVER!' Add the lazy exposition from voice-over commentators during the races ('This is not where he wants to be – last place' - oh, gee, thanks a bunch, scribe!) and there are genuinely moments when you want to wrap your lips around an exhaust pipe. But then again, this is the same Ehren Kruger who botched up Scream 3, gave us scripts for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Dark of the Moon and Age of Extinction, as well as the much-maligned live-action remake of Ghost in the Shell... So let's not act too surprised about the generic nature of this underdog sports drama. For all the F1® The Movie bashing, this crowd-pleaser isn't a bad time at the talkies. Provided you can look past the formulaic plot and the fact F1® The Movie is often half a movie and half a blatant PR exercise brimming with distracting product placement, it has its moments. Condon is great; the score by the ever-reliable Hans Zimmer is strong; some nice (if obvious) needle drops from classic rock legends Queen and Led Zeppelin sit well alongside chart-toppers RAYE, Tate McRae and Doja Cat; and again, the race scenes deliver the rubber-burning goods. If only they'd spent a bit more time and money on avoiding clichés and crafting something that feels less like an expensive corporate promo... Then the pedal could have truly been put to the metal. is out in cinemas now.
Forbes
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
How ‘F1: The Movie' Compares To Actual F1 Racing
Brad Pitt, stars as Sonny Hayes, a driver of the fictional Apex APXGP F1 team in F1: The Movie. ... More (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images) F1: The Movie, starring Brad Pitt, is a summer adrenaline rush, but does it accurately depict what F1 racing is all about? Let's get this out of the way: F1: The Movie is the kind of action-packed fun you'd expect of a summer blockbuster. If you've never followed Formula 1 racing or only briefly known about it, like Netflix's Drive To Survive, it may be your gateway into becoming a fan. As Top Gun ultimately became a commercial tool for recruiting people into the Navy, F1: The Movie is pure Hollywood, designed to market F1 to the masses. WARNING: SPOILERS For fans of F1, those who race, and the media that covers it, F1: The Movie could come as a disappointment. Where movies like the 1966 John Frankenheimer classic Grand Prix, or more recently Ron Howard's Rush, feel more parts documentary combined with drama, F1: The Movie is one part Days Of Thunder, one part The Natural, and one part Major League. The storyline and the reality of what happens behind the scenes and on the track in Formula 1 begin at the start and don't end until the credits. What is irrefutably compelling and will keep most race fans engaged is the eye-popping on-track sequences and state-of-the-art camera placement that not only makes one feel like they're on the cars, but inside the eyes of the principal racing characters in the film. Given that sign-off came from the FIA, F1, Liberty Media, with Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff producing, the movie's incredible backdrop of actual race weekend access with real drivers like Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclec, and more in cameos, gives the feel of it being at the F1 race schedule. In at least one scene, the movie recreates Lewis Hamilton's 2023 Mexico Grand Prix overtake of Charles Leclerc, replacing Hayes for Hamilton. Directed by Top Gun: Maverick's Joseph Kosinski, Pitt plays Sonny Hayes, an aged driver that was seen as an F1 prodigy with Lotus in the '90s but due to a tragic accident at the 1993 Spanish GP, has become washed up (somehow Pitt's outstanding driving as part of the winning the LMGT3 class at the 24 Hours of Daytona in the opening scenes keeps him labeled as 'washed up', but I digress). Now living out of a van, Hayes gets contacted by F1 team owner Rubin Cervantes, played by Javier Bardem, about a seat opening with his struggling fictitious APXGP team. From the jump, this is where Hollywood and reality diverge. Pitt is box office gold. Perhaps it's the lack of young action stars, but Pitt's role is following in the footsteps of Keanu Reeves and Tom Cruise, as older stars still make moviegoers believe they can excel far beyond their prime. Pitt is age 61. While he's spent time behind the wheel in race cars – most recently taking laps in the 2023 MCL60 McLaren F1 car at Circuit Of The Americas (COTA) – the notion that Pitt would ever be in the shape needed to race at the top levels required for Formula 1 is a fantastic leap. The current trend is to pluck drivers in their teens from F2 and develop them. Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso is currently the oldest driver on the grid at 43. Hence, the analogy of Robert Redford's role as Roy Hobbs in 1984's The Natural comes to mind: a young prodigy is beset by tragedy and emerges as an aged athlete to resurrect their career. While the analytics and high-tech aspects of Formula 1 are touched on, the actual race strategy falls into the realm of the 'wild maverick upends the team and F1 with his driving antics.' Early on, Pitt's Sonny Hayes makes intentional contact with other cars and the barriers to purposely bring out the safety car to help teammate Joshua Pearce, played by Damson Idris, get the inferior APXGP car closer to the pack on restarts. If the FIA stewards are trigger-happy with doling out penalties in the real F1, Hayes and the APXGP team would be suspended and fined off the grid. At one point, Hayes pits for a tire change, and refuses to leave the box when the team has opted for a hard tire strategy over the driver's stubborn demand for softs. A full 30 seconds later, the team relents, Hayes gets his softs, and off he goes. No driver could do this and not be sent packing the second they were out of the car. While F1: The Movie is going to be a great marketing vehicle to bring in fans, for the industry, it plays hard against the role of women in the paddock. It's Brad Pitt. It's a summer blockbuster. Like the aforementioned Days Of Thunder, there has to be a love interest, and it's here that the plot sees Hayes and APXGP technical director Kate McKenna, played by Irish actor Kerry Condon, make the connection. While there have been cases of personnel that work with drivers form romantic relationships (in IndyCar the late Dan Wheldon married Susie Behm who worked for Keystone Marketing doing PR work for Jim Beam, which sponsored his car at the time), the notion that a romantic fling between a driver and technical director would be completely off-limits. And early in the racing sequences, tire-gunner Jodie, played by Callie Cooke, makes what seems like a rookie mistake that only the sage male lead in Pitt can help her overcome her lack of confidence and shine. It's here that the movie undermines F1's efforts to lure women into the sport. It may all play well on the screen with regular moviegoers, but it does a disservice to F1's sincere efforts to bring diversity to the paddock. So, is F1: The Movie like the real Formula 1? Of course not. It is a highly entertaining movie that, due to the incredible driving scenes, is a must-see at the theater. It has a chance at being one of – if not the – top box office draws of the summer. It will undoubtedly make new fans of Formula 1 and open-wheel racing, which is great for the sport. However, the movie is anything but documentary material. If F1: The Movie is the gateway drug to the world of Formula 1, the education of these new fans will be a long-standing part of the equation.
Geek Culture
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Culture
F1: The Movie – Review
Formula 1 has been basking in its Drive to Survive (2019 – present) glow for years now, transforming what was once a niche motorsport into a global sporting obsession. Netflix's slick docuseries introduced newcomers to the sound and fury of the paddock, giving the sport an emotional engine. In a sudden turnaround, names like Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, and Lando Norris were common parlance, even in households that couldn't tell Monza from Monaco. The show didn't need to explain what DRS (Drag Reduction System) was every episode, as it trusted viewers to catch up while feeding them the interpersonal drama that comes from a high-speed chess game played across 24 cities a year. For many, it was the gateway drug as Formula 1, once considered opaque and elitist, became dinner table conversation. F1: The Movie knows that the audience is already onboard. Directed by Joseph Kosinski ( Tron: Legacy ) and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer ( Bad Boys , Pirates of the Caribbean ), both fresh off the mega successful Top Gun: Maverick (2022), the duo have once again built a world of roaring engines, grizzled veterans, and daredevils who mistake the edge of disaster for home. Brad Pitt ( Fight Club , Troy ) plays the ageing underdog (because of course he does) while British race champion driver Hamilton ( Cars 2 ), serving as co-producer, ensures the technical details stay true to form. The result is a movie that doesn't stop to hold your hand as it drops viewers straight onto the grid, where every tenth of a second is a career-defining margin and every decision at 300 kilometres per hour has consequences. Pitt slips effortlessly into the racing boots of Sonny Hayes, a semi-mythical driver cut from the same cloth as Tom Cruise's ( Mission: Impossible ) Maverick – weathered, stubborn, dangerously charismatic and a savant in the driver's seat. When Hayes enters the 24 Hours of Daytona track for a one-off endurance race, he drives like a man shaking off ghosts, and wins. Then he leaves, no fanfare, back into obscurity. Enter Ruben Cervantes, Hayes' longtime friend and former teammate played by Javier Bardem ( Skyfall ). Bardem leans into his trademark mix of unhinged charisma and wounded charm, playing an ex-racer turned desperate team boss with a half-smile and a mounting pile of debt. APXGP, the team he now runs, has grown far more familiar with the back of the pack than the winner's podium, and with US$350 million on the line, he needs a miracle to survive and that miracle is Sonny Hayes. Once neck-and-neck with Ruben for Formula 1's spotlight, Hayes flamed out after a brutal crash during a race against Brazilian motorsports racing legend Ayrton Senna. Rather than stage a fictional wreck, director Kosinski splices in real footage of Martin Donnelly's horrifying 1990 Spanish Grand Prix crash, itself an audacious, borderline exploitative move that lends visceral power at the cost of taste. There's something eerily meta about the way Hayes is written, as if Pitt is circling through echoes of his old roles: grimy charm in a trailer à la Cliff Booth in Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (2019), a laid-back Vegas smoothness like Rusty Ryan in the Ocean's franchise (2001-2007), and flashes of moody introspection from Roy Richard McBride in Ad Astra (2019). Hayes is a remix of archetypes who doesn't just break rules; he cruises past them like they're race markers that don't apply to him. And somehow, the movie agrees. But even a superstar comeback needs tension, which arrives in the form of Damson Idris' ( Snowfall ) Joshua Pearce, a hotshot rookie with something to prove and no interest in sharing the spotlight. He's put in the work, earned his place, and sees Hayes as a relic of a past he's trying to surpass. The bravado feels earned, but you can see the cracks when no one's looking. Idris plays those cracks with a kind of restrained grace, letting sarcasm and swagger slip into vulnerability at just the right moments. What makes their relationship work is that Hayes sees it. Maybe for the first time in years, he recognises someone else walking the same razor-thin line between arrogance and doubt. As the races tick by, their relationship is built not on dramatic monologues, but on wariness, competition, and the kind of grudging respect that only forms when both men realise they're chasing the same ghosts. Hayes sees in Pearce a younger version of himself – cocky, hungry, and terrified of losing it all before he ever really gets started. Pearce, in turn, watches Hayes with the suspicion of someone who's had to fight for every inch and isn't about to give up pole position. Their tension softens without ever vanishing, resulting in a partnership built on mutual recognition rather than contrived mentor-mentee sentiment. Adding a different dynamic to the pit is Kate McKenna, played by Kerry Condon ( The Banshees of Inisherin ), who serves as APXGP's sharp-edged technical director. She's sceptical from the moment Hayes walks in, understandably so, since her job (and the team's survival) depends on performance. Condon brings a steely intelligence to Kate, and she reads as the most competent person in any room she walks into, which makes the film's choice to fold her into a romantic subplot all the more deflating. There's an attempt to show mutual respect (two professionals finding a brief connection under pressure), but it ends up feeling like a reluctant box-tick for formulaic storytelling. What's frustrating is that McKenna represents a growing shift within motorsport, where more women are entering roles beyond the sidelines: engineers, strategists, team bosses. You can feel F1: The Movie trying to nod to that progress, especially with Condon's presence and a few quick shots of women in the pit lane and grandstands but it's clear intent only gets you so far. Formula 1's gender imbalance remains glaring, and the movie gestures at change without committing to saying anything meaningful about it. What makes it worse, for all the attention to realism in Formula 1's mechanics, it stumbles when it comes to believability. Kosinski's eye for speed and chaos hasn't dulled, but when Hayes repeatedly pulls off stunts that would trigger immediate disqualification from the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) in real life, the film starts to veer dangerously close to parody. There's one particularly egregious moment involving a purposeful crash that feels less like a daring move, and more like 2008's Renault Formula One crash controversy, also known as Crashgate, minus any of the consequences. Any viewer remotely familiar with how tightly Formula 1 is regulated would find it hard to believe the FIA would let APXGP continue unchecked after that incident. That being said, the film is at its strongest when it respects the visual grammar of the sport, even as it occasionally rewrites the rules. Kosinski smartly grounds the film by weaving his fictional team into real events, blurring the line between fabrication and fandom (drivers Verstappen, Leclerc, Norris, Carlos Sainz, Oscar Piastri, Fernando Alonso, and more appear in short cameos that add to the overall realism of the film). The pacing lifts with the hum of engines and squeal of tyres, elevated by Hans Zimmer's ( Inception , Interstellar ) kinetic score fresh off his Days of Thunder (1990) legacy. His music pulses through each turn, feeding into the tension of a slick curve or a critical pit stop, where every second counts. And just when it feels like the engines can't scream any louder, cinematographer Claudio Miranda's ( Oblivion ) camera launches into overdrive. Mounted on cockpits, wedged into wheel wells, swinging under spoilers… with some shot using Apple's iPhone camera technology, it captures every frame like it's riding shotgun with a death wish. It's bravura technical filmmaking that evokes Grand Prix (1967) and Le Mans (1971), but juiced with modern precision. If Top Gun (1986) made you feel like you were flying, F1: The Movie plants you in the driver's seat and slams the pedal hard into the visceral rush of it all. That's the formula Kosinski sticks to: grip, go, don't over-explain. Where some sports dramas dig into soul-searching monologues or try to reinvent the wheel, F1: The Movie just wants to go fast in its 2 hours and 36 minutes runtime (roughly the time Ferrari needs to make a strategy call), and damn if it doesn't look good doing it. The emotional beats may be familiar, the dialogue occasionally pre-programmed, but once the tyres screech and the camera dives, none of that really matters. Because sometimes, all you want is for the car to go so fast it starts to shake the screen and leave rubber marks on your retinas. And honestly? It might be onto something. Summary For all its missteps, F1: The Movie understands one thing better than most: speed is cinema. The plotlines may veer close to parody, but every pit stop, downshift, and overtaking manoeuvre buys it just enough goodwill to keep racing toward the finish. Story - 6.5/10 Direction - 7.5/10 Characterisation - 7/10 Geek Satisfaction - 7.5/10 Natalie is a big fan of anything related to movies, TV shows, and anime — you name it. When she's not reading or being a dedicated cinephile, she's probably playing gacha and tabletop games, or daydreaming of Caleb from Love and Deepspace . F1 F1 The Movie Joseph Kosinski Review
The Independent
6 days ago
- Automotive
- The Independent
George Russell and Max Verstappen F1 swap would be unthinkable – but Mercedes man deserves clarity
As Formula 1 the enterprise returns to real racing on track this weekend in Austria – away from the sprinkle and stardust of movie premieres in New York and London – one of the season's standout drivers so far is in an unusual predicament. A scenario, you might say, worthy of a drama. No doubt the Box to Box producers of Netflix's Drive to Survive are rubbing their hands together. George Russell, at this present stage, can do little more. The 27-year-old, in his fourth season at Mercedes and first without Lewis Hamilton by his side, has taken to the role of 'team leader' with poise and serenity. As the Brit acknowledged to The Independent last month, he's been 'getting better and better.' Let's take the last two races. Last time out, in Canada, one of the laps of the year saw Russell clinch a memorable pole position. From there, he thwarted any challenge behind him with a composed drive out in front to victory. In a Mercedes car which has been capricious so far this season, it was arguably Russell's best weekend in F1 to date. The previous race, Russell held his nerve – and his tongue in the media pen afterwards – after being clattered into by arch-rival Max Verstappen. The Red Bull driver was duly punished and remains a penalty point away from a race ban, ahead of Silverstone next week. But Verstappen is lurking in Russell's background in more ways than one. Having signed a two-year deal in the summer of 2023, Russell's current contract with Mercedes expires at the end of the year. His teammate, 18-year-old prodigy Kimi Antonelli, is the golden boy of Mercedes boss Toto Wolff. The Italian is going nowhere. But why the delay for Russell? The Brit is fourth in the world championship, having secured five podiums in 10 races – his best-ever start to a season. He is just 19 points off Verstappen, who has two wins to his name. Russell is executing the maximum possible points outlay on nearly every weekend. Surely, therefore, he deserves some clarity over his future? Yet speaking to Sky Sports ahead of this weekend's round 11 in Spielberg, Russell spilt the beans on the worst-kept secret in the paddock: Mercedes boss Wolff does not want to close the door on poaching Verstappen. "As Mercedes, they want to be back on top, and if you're going to be back on top, you need to make sure you've got the best drivers, the best engineers, the best pit crew, and that's what Mercedes are chasing,' Russell said. "So, it's only normal that conversations with the likes of Verstappen are ongoing. But from my side, if I'm performing as I'm doing, what have I got to be concerned about? 'There are two seats in every Formula 1 team.' To an extent, Russell is correct in his view. All he can do is prove his worth every week out on track, eking as much performance out of the Mercedes W16 as possible. This weekend, he returns to a race he won last year. Next week, he returns to Silverstone, his home track, where he picked up pole position in 2024. Another set of podiums is the obvious target, behind the frontrunning pace of the McLarens. Over to you, then, Toto. The Mercedes F1 CEO, a few months ago, was adamant he was not interested in 'flirting' with the prospect of poaching Verstappen from fierce rivals Red Bull and main adversary Christian Horner. The Dutchman, for his part, insists he will be staying with Red Bull in 2026; he has a £40m-a-year contract until the end of 2028. But here's the catch for Verstappen and his world championship ambitions. Red Bull are, for the first time, launching their own power unit programme for the new set of engine and chassis regulations next year, in partnership with Ford. That brings with it an element of uncertainty. On the flip side, much like the hybrid era phase of Silver Arrows dominance, Mercedes are fancied as the favourites for next year, such is their expertise in the engine department. So, could Verstappen replace Russell? It would amount to a disloyal move on the part of Wolff, dropping his current top dog for the Dutchman, who is unquestionably a generational driver. Yet, given the vocal rivalry between the two drivers, as well as the two teams, it feels almost unthinkable. It would, simply put, feel bizarre. And what would that mean for Russell? There are no open seats for 2026 at McLaren, Ferrari or Aston Martin. Therefore, his only option for a front-of-the-pack team would be a move to Red Bull in an effective swap deal. Russell working with Horner, as opposed to against him? Again, very bizarre. The forecast for the next month, as we build towards the summer break and 'silly season', should be obvious for Wolff: sign up Russell, give your star driver the clarity he deserves, form a plan for the future, and win with your man. It is a view shared up and down the paddock. We await the next steps with intrigue.
RTÉ News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Lewis Hamilton says Brad Pitt's character in F1 film has echoes of James Hunt
Lewis Hamilton has revealed Brad Pitt's character in the new Formula One blockbuster was based on James Hunt. F1: The Movie, of which seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton is an executive producer, was released this week. Pitt, 61, plays the role of veteran driver Sonny Hayes, who returns to the grid after a long absence with fictional team APX GP. Hunt, the 1976 world champion, was famed for his charisma and maverick approach to motor racing. Speaking ahead of this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix, Hamilton said: "Firstly, I didn't write it. The writer, Ehren (Kruger), I am sure he was looking at people like James Hunt. "He wanted a really cool character and he was looking at the characters from back in the (Ayrton) Senna days, so a combination of those drivers and I would say the James Hunt vibe. "I don't know if that is what he ultimately chose, but that is the character I feel resembles very closely to him (Hayes) – a very cool, calm, good-looking cat and an elder statesmen within the team." Pitt's rookie team-mate Joshua Pearce is played by British actor Damson Idris. Filming took place across multiple races over the last two seasons and F1 chiefs hope the movie will follow the popularity of Netflix's Drive To Survive series in cracking America. The film premiered in New York last Monday and Hamilton was in Times Square along with the majority of the grid's drivers and cast. He continued: "When you are reading the script it is hard to see how it will play out, but then to be at the premiere in the middle of Times Square and having Brad up on the screen with a Formula One car and the F1 logo, I was like, 'holy crap, this is absolutely insane'. "That experience was great and, for me, a moment I will never forget. "I had seen the film so many times on my laptop, watching every different section for so long and making comments as we edited and improved it, and I was like, 'I have seen it already, so I am going to leave and go to dinner', but I decided to stay, and to see everyone's reaction after it finished was one of the coolest things and really special." Source: PA
