From director Joseph Kosinski, “F1” is an amalgam of well-worn tropes and overly familiar tics. The dialogue, from a script by Ehren Kruger and Kosinski, starts off as just quips and exposition but eventually evolves into quips, exposition and shallow profundity. And yet…
I still found myself wrapped up in the excitement of the races and caring about the (essentially predetermined) outcome of the story. How? My brain could see every box being ticked by Kosinski and company. The vast majority of the time, I knew what was going to happen before it did. I rolled my eyes at 90% of the words spoken on screen and was annoyed by star Brad Pitt’s “The Gambler”-esque swagger. But I was still enthralled by this sports movie. What manner of sorcery is this?
Part of it is that “F1” looks amazing, with fantastic racing footage from DP Claudio Miranda expertly edited by Stephen Mirrione and Patrick J. Smith. It’s hard to see these shots and not get caught up in the intensity of the speedway, with its seemingly impossible velocities. Part of is Hans Zimmer’s tremendously engaging score which, while buried amidst a pretty crappy soundtrack, still stands out to grab the viewer and inject them with the appropriate emotions of awe. And part of it is simply that these stories and beats just work. At least, when done by technicians at the height of their crafts like this crew, these scrappy sports stories of unlikely all-stars sweep audiences into their folds and leave us rapt despite everything in us that should “know better.”
In “F1: The Movie,” Sonny Hayes (Pitt) is a formula F1 driver who has taken on a more vagabond lifestyle — living in his van and going from various race to race, trying all sorts of different cars and challenges. We meet him helping a team to win at Daytona when his former colleague, and now F1 team owner, Ruben (Javier Bardem) woos the old pro to join him. Ruben has a great rookie in Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris) but needs something else to win at least one race… or else the board will sell the team. Hayes hems and haws and is a reluctant savior, obviously, but eventually makes his way to where he runs afoul of how things are normally done and butts heads/makes heart eyes at the lead technical engineer, Kate (Kerry Condon). Can this ragtag group of individuals who seemingly clash constantly find some way to eke out a victory in the most popular sport on the planet?
The answer probably won’t surprise you, but that’s what’s so baffling about “F1: The Movie.” You know this film — you could guess at a handful of scenes that happen and would most likely be accurate in your prediction. There is nothing surprising or really all that new about Kosinski’s feature. Car racing, on virtually every level of the sport from street to the Grand Prix, has been done well before in any number of titles. In just the past decade, you could comfortably assemble a top ten of impressively shot accelerating automobile films that really capture the ludicrous speed and requisite fortitude of the sport. I would argue that “F1” is the best looking of these so far, and possibly since “Days of Thunder,” but Kosinski has turned in beautiful duds before (“Tron Legacy,” “Oblivion”) that have incredible aesthetics but mind-numbing scripts. The screenplay for “F1” isn’t mind-numbing, there are even some fairly engaging moments that are carried well by an invested cast. But it certainly isn’t novel or intriguing in form or content that would support why “F1: The Movie” is so successful at getting you to care about what’s going on. There’s an awkward rivalry turned friendship, a sloppy bit of corporate intrigue, a wooden backstory of hubris and pain, and a very unnecessary romance… and yet, “F1” somehow succeeds in the face of the groan worthy lines and warmed-over narrative beats.
I’m not a follower of F1 the sport, so lots of the cameos and winks were lost on me (thanks, IMDb trivia!). But I’m sure that those who do enjoy that brand of racing will geek out at some of those moments and having superstar Lewis Hamilton as producer (and occasional “hey, there he is!” guy on screen) certainly gives the proceedings a real air of authenticity which sells much of the action and atmosphere. The car (designed by Ferrari) looks dope, and the script doesn’t belabor too much of the various aspects of the sport itself, trusting the audience to understand what is happening and why. Those awkward bits of explanation are dutifully done by a game cast, but except for Bardem and Idris, none are really that sparkling or endearing. Pitt, once one of the most handsome but impressive character actors out there, seems to have found a groove that combines his cool “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” role with his smirking “Ocean’s Eleven” persona that should work but feels like autopilot. His chemistry with the rest of the cast is fine, pretty pat as they all must be incredulous at him and then eventually worship him. None of the performances detract, it’s just that none truly stand out as delivering anything special or revelatory. Archetypal characters exist in archetypal storytelling that doesn’t reinvent anything but manages to still be entertaining, in spite of itself.
“F1: The Movie” shouldn’t work. Revisiting the film, my brain lists out scenes and lines and moments that were lame or obvious or were meant to be deep but were really just lame and obvious. But I also remember the feeling of experiencing the movie and how it did affect me, those moments where I forgot my own certainty of what’s to come that I became enraptured by what was unfolding. People like to say “turn off your brain” when it comes to some titles, but this is one where emotions trumped the cognitive aspects and produced a good time at the theater. If you’re not expecting much, and you can let a lot slide, Kosinski and company will work their magic on you to create something surprisingly effective.
Bafflingly so.
3.5 / 5 Stars
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Javier Bardem, Kerry Condon
Director: Joseph Kosinski
