F1

Ever since his big loss in Formula 1, loner Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) has felt his life has lost direction and meaning, until an old friend (Javier Bardem) lures Hayes back to the Formula 1 scene to save the Expensify racing team from being sold off. This proves to be no easy task, given how much Hayes' confident personality clashes with the rest of the team, especially the cocky youngster (Damson Idris) who dreams mostly of fame and money. But together they can achieve great things, as long as they learn to work together.

The F1 film is a classic sports story disguised as Formula 1 advertising, or vice-versa, depending on how cynical you are. For someone who has never seen a single minute of this fast-paced motorsport, it didn't matter much that the film was so clearly Formula 1-obsessed. I'm one of those people who mostly snorts when my workmates start discussing the weekend's race during lunch break, so for me, the clichéd story blended well with the Formula 1 advertising and offered an insanely entertaining insight into something I've never spent a single minute on. In other words, the F1 film manages to turn this motorsport into an easily digestible and wildly entertaining film experience with technical precision.

Joseph Kosinski is a skilled technical director, something he most recently demonstrated in the incomparable Top Gun sequel, and that intensely sweaty "sit in the driver's seat" style is also found here, where all possible camera angles — especially from the cars themselves — paint an almost gladiatorial battle arena with sparkling rubber tyres and constant pit stops. The thunderous audio-visual experience of being in the middle of the Grand Prix is the film's great attraction and is a joy to watch, preferably on an IMAX screen. Hans Zimmer also helps to build tension with his electronic pulsing soundtrack, even if the music doesn't really stand out in any way.

The drama that takes place outside the driver's seat, on the other hand, is not quite as dynamic. It's not quite as scripted as Ford v Ferrari or Rush, where much of the dialogue feels like it was written to be implemented in trailers and the drama between team members is as "by the numbers" as it can possibly be. At the same time, the storytelling is incredibly tight and well-edited that you quickly pass over its flaws, with the fast pace matching the adrenaline on the race track. It also helps that Pitt is charismatic as a tormented veteran and Kerry Condon's fiery charm is instantly infectious. The film is two hours and 35 minutes long, but you never feel the time passing, it just flies by.

It doesn't matter that the film's sports commentators over-explain everything to a novice like me, and it's easy to forgive certain ridiculous elements (how much is the film's protagonist actually allowed to manipulate the rules of the sport?) thanks to the classic Hollywood charm that the film exudes. This is a bombastic, melodious, and wildly entertaining crowd-pleaser with impressive action sequences; it's a well-built old-school engine that ticks all the boxes a typical sports film should have, but does so well and crosses the finish line with confidence and bravura.