‘F1 The Movie' Review: Brad Pitt Goes Zoom

New York Times

5 hours ago

Set in the world of Formula One racing, the easy, oh-so breezy 'F1 The Movie' wants you to believe that it's about winning and losing, talent and teamwork and all the tough love and hard work that go into Grand Prix glory. That's the pitch, though there's both more and less at play. An enjoyably arranged collection of all the visual attractions and narrative clichés that money can buy, 'F1' is very simply about the satisfactions of genre cinema and the pleasures of watching appealing characters navigate fast, exotic cars that whine like juiced-up mosquitoes. It's also about the pleasures of that ultrasmooth performance machine, Brad Pitt.
At once calculated and almost touchingly sincere, the story is as formulaic as its title subject. Pitt plays Sonny Hayes, a driver who could've been, should've been, a world-class contender. Recruited for service by an old pal, Ruben (a silky Javier Bardem), Sonny gets one last proverbial chance to prove himself while facing the customary hurdles, including his past, a wary crew, a corporate tool and a hungry young rival. There are crackups, breakdowns, near-misses and some well-lit darkish nights (well, minutes) of the soul. Three women have decent speaking roles; all share at least one meaningful moment with Sonny.
The whole sleek package is as hackneyed as it sounds, but when the cars and cameras zoom around the track, it scarcely matters. A great deal depends on your love of or maybe just tolerance for straightforward, ostentatious, professionally crafted spectacles that don't ask much of you but time and money. In return, you get nearly three hours of fizzy drama, some superficial peeks into a rarefied world and a studiously casual, tousled and tanned Pitt in classic Hollywood Zen master mode. Much like the movie itself, which is an enjoyable metaphor for the filmgoing experience, Pitt's star performance is nothing if not self-reflexive.
To that end, the director Joseph Kosinski showcases Pitt like an old-studio attraction, bathing him in pretty light, putting him in signifying outfits — think of a coyly grinning, blue-jeaned Robert Redford circa the 1970s — and at times stripping off some of that clothing. Kosinski buffed Tom Cruise to a similar high gloss in 'Top Gun: Maverick.' As in that movie, 'F1' deploys its star for a classic setup between an individual and a community, one in which a loner-outsider rides in to deliver wisdom and near-mystical gifts. (The producers include Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time Formula One world champ, and Jerry Bruckheimer, who, with films like 'Top Gun,' helped define modern American blockbuster cinema.)
Written by Ehren Kruger, the veneer-thin story opens with Sonny at Daytona, where he awakes in his van next to the speedway, fires up Zeppelin's 'Whole Lotta Love' and runs winning circles around the competition. Not long after, his former track rival, Bardem's Ruben, offers Sonny a chance to drive for a (fictional) losing Formula One team. Sonny takes it, sliding into an aerodynamic open-wheel ride amid some back story, character development, pro forma antagonism with a hotshot teammate, Joshua (Damson Idris), and a romance with the team's technical director, Kate (Kerry Condon), all elements that the filmmakers use like brick mortar to help build what is effectively a series of races into a cohesive whole.
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