Movie Review: F1

 

Michael's Movie Grade: A-

A top-notch genre flick. 

As he proved with Top Gun: Maverick, director Joseph Kosinski can take what should on paper be a typical genre flick and turn it into something excellent. Unlike many filmmakers who will probably receive more recognition, his approach to this is not to subvert the conventions of the genre but rather to simply do them so well that the audience doesn't care if they have been done before. That is what can be said about this movie. In many ways this is a conventional sports film, but these conventions are done so well that it manages to stand out among the many similar movies. 

The racing scenes are excellent. The writing is tense (if only real sports could be this exciting), the driving and cinematography are top notch, the pacing is near perfect, and the auditory filmmaking is incredible. When I speak about the auditory filmmaking I am referring to quite a few aspects of it. The sound mixing is wonderful, and this movie knows just when to be loud and just when to be quiet. Because of this use of sound, we are often going back and forth from being a spectator at the racetrack (if you see this in Dolby or IMAX, you will truly feel like you are at a racetrack) to being inside the car with the character. I am also referring to the music. This includes both Hans Zimmer's score and the use of rock and pop songs on the soundtrack. Though some of the song choices may be obvious (Led Zeppelin's Whole Lot of Love; Queen's We Will Rock You), they are truly effective and get your adrenaline pumping (again especially if you see this in Dolby or IMAX). 

As exciting as the racing scenes are the characters are the heart of the film. It is true that they fall into the typical conventions for characters of these types of films, but there more to them than just this. Because of this they feel completely real and believable to us. Even the supporting characters have enough personality to make them feel believable. Brad Pitt and Damson Idris' performances the main characters are truly excellent and add much of this film's heart. Brad Pitt is simply magnetic here which is completely necessary for a movie like this. Javier Bardem and Kerry Condon are truly wonderful in their supporting roles as well. Because we believe every character on screen (both because of the writing and the performances), we truly care about these races and feel the joy when they finish well and the disappointment when they don't. 

This is truly a wonderful genre flick, where excellent filmmaker and performances overcome the standard conventions of the story.