F1 (2025)
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Premise: An aged race car driver (Brad Pitt) is recruited by a desperate Formula 1 team owner (Javier Bardem). The driver’s unconventional methods shake up the team.
What Works: F1 epitomizes a certain kind of Hollywood film that was more frequent decades ago. It’s a Hollywood spectacle but one anchored in realistic human endeavors and produced by a very good filmmaker with an excellent cast anchored by a movie star. Director Joseph Kosinski previously helmed TRON: Legacy and Top Gun: Maverick and like those films F1 is extremely kinetic and beautifully produced. The racing scenes are the highlight of the picture and thankfully there are a lot of them. F1’s set pieces have a visceral impact, capturing the excitement and danger of racing. Sound is used well. The effects create an aural impression of speed and Hans Zimmer’s score blends into the mix while drawing out the human aspects of the story. As much as F1 is about the thrill of the race, the movie also demonstrates an understanding of and appreciation for the engineering of racing and the role of the technicians who design and service the vehicles. There is a strong sense of the team at work which becomes a source of drama. F1 is well cast with Brad Pitt leading the movie as a veteran driver who has been recruited to save the team. The moviemakers use Pitt very well especially his cool aloofness. Also impressive are Damson Idris as the team’s primary driver and Kerry Condon as the technical director. The actors bounce off each other well and F1 has a surprising amount of humor. The dialogue is glib and the actors deliver their lines with great comic timing.
What Doesn’t: F1 suffers in its pacing. The film runs 155 minutes and it often feels that long. Its slow feel is partly a result of a story that lacks a concrete goal. Stories are about characters who have a desire and the more specific and visual that desire, generally the stronger the drama. Brad Pitt’s character is recruited by a team desperate for a win but with each race there isn’t much sense of the team getting closer or farther away from their goal. The race sequences, although expertly filmed, tend to feel repetitive. F1 also feels a bit long because of its thin characters. Everyone is basically the same at the end of the story as they were at the beginning. We don’t learn much about the central characters throughout the story nor do they realize anything about themselves. It’s dramatically flat. Even when one of the lead characters gets into a serious collision, there’s little question that he’ll make his way back to the track. When the movie ends, the audience is left to wonder about the point of it all.
Bottom Line: F1 is a satisfying sports picture. The characters are thin but what they lack in depth they make up for in likability and the racing scenes are superb. F1 will play for viewers who are into racing but the movie ought to appeal to other audiences as well.
Episode: #1056 (July 13, 2025)