F1: The Movie – An Immersive Technical Feat (Early Review)

Following up a financial and critical success with the spectacle of Top Gun: Maverick, director Joseph Kosinski amplifies the high-octane action in an energizing experience fitting for the IMAX screen. Substituting fighter jets for F1 cars, Kosinski delves into the intense, fast-paced industry of Formula One racing, highlighting the importance of time efficiency and unorthodox strategies that come with Apex’s (APXGP) road to Grand Prix success. 

F1 follows the return of racecar driver Sonny Hayes (Pitt) to the world of F1 following a serious crash that left him scarred and searching for purpose. Looking to give him purpose, Ruben (Javier Bardem), Sonny’s former teammate and now team owner, convinces Sonny to join a last ditch effort to finally get a Grand Prix win for APXGP. The result of his combative racing skills, combined with rookie Joshua Pearce’s (Idris) ambition, caused a whirlwind of complications and frustrations among the APX team. The most affected was Kate McKenna (Kerry Condon), the team’s technical director, a character who would later become Sonny’s love interest.

Pitt’s charismatic portrayal of Hayes further reinforces his established podium leading Hollywood blockbusters, providing the same laid-back swagger and screen aura in a grand-scale production primed for peak success like his Oscar-winning role in Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood. Sonny embodies Pitt’s routine charisma, coupled with the extensive wisdom and bluntness coming from his extensive experience as an F1 veteran with dangerous experience on the tracks. His unorthodox racing tactics and recurring disobedience of his team’s orders are the main drive of conflict in the film’s simplistic storytelling, lacking any form of character complexity besides Sonny’s love for racing.

However, the dynamic clash between Sonny and Joshua throughout the film is refreshing, as writer Ehren Kruger’s screenplay integrates a healthy exchange of character motivations between the two, instilling a balancing rivalry that allows audiences to understand their motivations. Similarly, those unfamiliar with the logistics of Formula One racing will grasp their understanding quickly as the film offers a behind the scenes look at what it takes to run a team through complex coordination and communication, optimization of vehicle aerodynamics, risk assessment of tire types, and weather unpredictability.

F1 certainly makes the most out of Apple’s $200-300 million budget, providing audiences stunning views of meticulously shot racing scenes in this globetrotting adventure across the Formula One season, utilizing numerous worldwide circuits with live audiences and appearances from established racing veterans. Kosinski, along with frequent collaborator Claudio Miranda, implements the experimental cinematography developed in Top Gun: Maverick and takes it to another level, incorporating multiple mounted cameras on functioning F1 cars to capture Pitt and Idris’ real-time action on the tracks.

Kosinski’s choice to film an authentic, near-perfect racing experience seeps through the screen, providing a satisfying cinematic spectacle for F1 fans and adrenaline junkies as they gaze upon the stressful reactions of these racers in their element and the split-second decisions that come with racing at speeds of up to 180-220 mph. Elevating this grand exhibition of technical achievement is Hans Zimmer’s electrifying score that keeps the energy pumping consistently throughout the film’s 155-minute runtime. Meanwhile, countless prominent artists, including the likes of Ed Sheeran, Don Toliver, Doja Cat, Rosé, Tate McRae, and Madison Beer, provide original songs to round out a vibrant score that explodes with joy through the surround sound of an IMAX theater. Kosinski spares no expense in providing a technical feat that surprisingly tops his previous effort. As a result, F1 is in strong contention to be the best blockbuster theater experience since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the end, F1 delivers an entertaining blockbuster worthy of kicking off this later summer movie season, providing audiences the kind of cinematic spectacle fit for racing fans and moviegoers. While not necessarily offering the most compelling story, Joseph Kosinski maximizes his strengths in all other facets of the filmmaking process to create the genuine F1 Grand Prix experience. Utilizing a reliable leading man in Pitt, groundbreaking cinematography, authentic racing, and an electric score makes the film a definite recommendation for IMAX viewing.

still courtesy of Warner Bros. and Apple Original Films

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Costa Christoulas

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