F1 The Movie Review: Brad Pitt Leads A High-Speed, Crowd-Pleasing Adventure

In late 2021, it was announced that a bidding war for a package including "Top Gun: Maverick" director Joseph Kosinski, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Brad Pitt, and Formula 1 racing was being waged in Hollywood. Apple won out in the end, and through setbacks from the labor strikes, it's finally made its way to the big screen. But in recent days, seeing Tom Cruise at the premiere has really put into sharp focus just how much this film, initially conceived to be a big advertisement for the world of Formula 1, is trying to recapture the magic of "Maverick." 

As Cruise himself aims to make a sequel to his '90s NASCAR flick "Days of Thunder," one wonders what they could do with that project that "F1 The Movie" hasn't already done, cribbing from the "Top Gun" sequel playbook. In the film, Pitt plays Sonny Hayes, a has-been F1 driver given a second chance by his former rival turned friend Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem). Ruben's F1 team Apex Grand Prix (AGPX) has never won a race, and if they don't do so by the end of the season, his board of investors will take the team out of his hands. He brings Sonny in not just to help him win, but to show rookie Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris) how it's really done. 

Same director, same cinematographer (Claudio Miranda), same writer (Ehren Kruger) ... there's a lot of overlap with "Maverick" here. But can "F1" operate on the same level without the built-in fandom and nostalgia of a beloved older film?

Before we outline the very simple cause for this film's issues, we would be remiss not to lead with some praise. "F1 The Movie" is one of the most entertaining theatrical experiences of the year. The bulk of the film's focus is obviously in the races, as the narrative spans the second half of an F1 season. Joseph Kosinski and Claudio Miranda repeat the trick of making the viewer feel like they're in the cockpit of a jet from "Top Gun: Maverick," and utilize smart staging, the right lenses, and some bravura movements to make the dancing between all the cars an impressive and hypnotic spectacle. This is especially true if you're seeing it in IMAX, where the entire film is projected in 1.9:1 instead of skipping back and forth between the taller IMAX frame and a wider scope one.

It feels like a movie that is thoroughly concerned with immersing the viewer into a pervasive sense of speed. The construction of the set pieces center fastness, but even in the editing of basic exposition scenes or back and forth passages of dialogue, there's a dedication to efficiency that was a bit of a surprise. When a scene calls for a coterie of reaction shots to sell a dramatic or comedic beat, the timing always feels one step removed from YouTube editing with the breaths removed from between speech. This makes the 156 minute runtime fly by a lot faster than one would expect, but everything is so quick and, at times, repetitive, that it doesn't always feel substantive.

And it's not the cast's fault! Just as Kosinski sent his "Top Gun: Maverick" stars to the sky, he put Brad Pitt and Damson Idris through their paces behind the wheel, furthering the sense of immersion and believability — but looking good for the races is only half the battle. On a scale of "Burn After Reading" comedy guy to "Once Upon A Time... in Hollywood" Oscar winner, Pitt is in Billy Beane from "Moneyball" territory here, imbuing his Sonny Hayes with enough movie star charm to lend sparkle and gravitas to the proceedings. Javier Bardem and Kerry Condon (who plays Kate McKenna, Sonny's love interest and the first ever technical director of an F1 team) are punching well above the film's weight class with their supporting turns and their palpable chemistry with Pitt. Idris, too, holds his own, but they're failed by the film's script.

"Maverick" earned that Oscar nomination for best adapted screenplay because it was Ehren Kruger and a handful of other guys, none of whom are here to help elevate his boilerplate work. (It truly feels like Chris McQuarrie was once again the special sauce holding that Tom Cruise-led film together.) Whenever a race is not being driven, every passage between the characters feels like people shouting their subtext at one another because they don't have the time to engage in real drama. Everyone feels flattened, presented in the sort of cinematic short-hand that would work in a leaner motion picture, but here just feels hollow. There is some sincerity, to be sure — just not enough of it to shake the feeling that what you're so artfully immersed in is a really long, really expensive ad.

Now, the unprecedented involvement and cooperation from Formula 1 is a feature, not a bug, and it does go a long way to making the film feel more real, if you yourself are watching it from the perspective of a racing fan. Having stars of the sport like Lewis Hamilton appear as themselves, and all the real teams involved in the races definitely helps put this in the conversation for one of the best racing movies of all time. But the smorgasbord of corporate logos, sponsorships, and brand synergy detract a bit from Sonny's repeated admonishing toward Joshua to ignore the outside noise of social media and focus on the racing. The movie itself paints such a vivid and comprehensive picture of all the noise we're supposed to ignore!

And don't get us started about Apple's part in all of this. In a five minute passage, the viewer will end up seeing countless Mac Studios, Airpods Maxes, and XDR Displays. Apple was so involved they developed custom cameras for the cockpit using chips and sensors from the iPhone. Perhaps in a movie that cared more about its characters, it would be easier to see beyond how much this movie exists for commercial interests less lofty than just great storytelling. 

Yet at the end of the day, the roar of the engines is loud enough to drown out any meaningful discussions about the intersection of commerce and art. For a movie about cars racing fast, it delivers. If anyone is expecting much more than that though, they may find themselves wanting.

"F1" races into theaters on June 27.