F1: THE MOVIE (2025)

I wasn’t excited for this one. I have never, and I mean never, watched a Formula 1. I’m a foreigner when it comes to this world, but I do love and appreciate summer blockbusters and as far as movie stars go, Brad Pitt has yet to be overtaken. Well, that’s not exactly true. His recent choices were a couple of drags in my opinion – Wolfs (2024), Bullet Train (2022) – and I figured his latest would not have the shake-n-bake sensibilities required to keep me interested in a subject I know nothing about. I also recently endured the streaming wrecks Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning (2025) and Superman (2025), both of which I had anticipated to be winners. And so my hopes were a little off track. And yet, F1 is a champ, delivering on pacing, story and charcater. Back on form, Pitt wears his worn and torn charisma in the best way, with unconcerned humility, glueing this endevour together. I was so interested in this self-composed racer, foisted back to the big game after years in the shadows, that I overlooked that he’s the cliché savvy veteran in the metaphorical race against the egocentric rookie Damson Idris – Outside the Wire (2021). Pitt’s character Sonny Hayes has been touched by failure and it shows with every word he doesn’t say, while Idris’ Joshua Pearce is a refection of Hayes’ younger self, with nothing to lose, only with the addition of shelling for likes and honing his online persona while not yet fully matured. It’s an old tale that speaks to the stage Pitt’s at in his career and life, and he had me cheering for this “never was”.  But, like every team sport (and I only just learned that racing is counted among them), he’s flanked by Idris, Javier Bardem and Kerry Condon; and all are just what he needs to help this tale motor. Still, aside from the heart behind the performances, this whole thing wouldn’t work if the race scenes didn’t thrill, and they are beautifully shot, genuinely hair-raising and realistic, I assume. Of course, every good sports movie is never just about the sport. And F1, you son of a bitch, surprised me with what you had to say.

WATCH OR NOT: WATCH

Additional musings: See this in a premium format, e.g. Imax.