Considering I come from a racing background you'd have thought that I would have been thrilled to go and watch this movie. In truth, while my dad did dabble in racing cars, bikes was always his thing so if the movie was about MotoGP then I'd have been there, but F1 just wasn't my vibe.
That said, Jamie is an F1 nut and last year we visited the F1 exhibition in London (full post on that can be found at @phantomadventuresuk, the link for the blog post is in the bio) which he massively enjoyed and I thought was pretty meh as the prices in the giftshop angered me. So it was a no brainer to accompany him to see this movie as I knew he'd enjoy it and it's only fair to let him pick the movies sometimes (we'll ignore the fact he is responsible for the worst movie picks of last year *cough-Furiosa cough-Rise of the Planet of the Apes*).
Brad Pitt was a decent selling point I'll give you that, but was it enough to save a movie about a sport I dont care about? Keep reading to find out.
I was so ready to hate this film, I went in there betting I'd fall asleep as it's something I'd seen over and over but I was pleasantly surprised. It was the story that gripped me as while this is an F1 movie, it isnt really about F1. This film is about teamwork, competition, friendship, and personal growth.
F1: The Movie follows Sonny Hayes an ex-F1 driver as he follows his nomad lifestyle racing for different championships and styles across the world. We open with him winning a race in the US and walking away once he wins, it seems Sonny is content once he's reached number one and then the job is done. We see already this man has something to prove. He's deeply superstitious and has a little routine. It's not explained but we see him shuffle a deck of cards and slip one into his pocket during every race, then it cuts to a photo of him and his dad, this is a good luck charm.
His old racing buddy, Ruben, played by Javier Bardem tracks him down and tries to persuade him to join his failing F1 team, they just need the one win to stop the sale of the team and get him out of debt, just the one and Sonny can declare himself the best in the world and fulfil his dream.
He accepts and we see this rocky road as so many challenges are thrown in Sonny's path. His rookie team mate doesn't like him, undermines him, and thinks he is the rockstar of the team. A member of the board is trying to sabotage the team so it goes into sale, and Sonny is desperately trying to hide the injury he sustained 30 years ago in F1 that would stop his F1 career.
Throughout the course of the movie we see Sonny fall in love, learn to work as a team, and ultimately save the team from sale. He also fulfils his dream before moving on.
The movie got me in the feels for sure, especially when JP nearly dies in a crash when he purposely ignores Sonny's instructions. He keeps resenting this 'old timer' thinking he's come in to steal his thunder when in reality they've brought in his experience to help shape JP into a better driver, he has the talent but not the discipline.
Both Sonny and JP end up setting aside their differences to work as the most brilliant team by the end of the movie, I'd say they even become friends and my guess is that Sonny's lucky winning card in his pocket was the 7 of Spades due to the imagery seen when we look at the photo of his dad.
What bugs me about the movie is the fact no one addressed the fact Sonny pulled JP out of the flames when he crashed. He rushed over, put the fire out as much as he could and risked his own life to pull him out. Everyone knows that when this happens people are hesitant to go into the flames and sadly the driver is usually left to die, but Sonny who knew he was also in danger wouldnt let that happen. Based on the people standing around and just waiting JP would have died if it wasnt for Sonny and he got off lightly with his burns. Instead everyone blamed him when actually it was JP disobeying orders, most of the team knew this and yet they still made it a little awkward, although things went to running a lot smoother in the time it took JP to recover as his attitude wasnt there to scupper them.
Both Sonny and JP learnt valuable lessons here. They both learnt how to be a team, showing that sport is more than just winning, it was the comradery which went with it. They both showed personal growth throughout the movie and I really enjoyed watching their arcs.
So to answer my earlier question, yes Brad Pitt was enough to save this movie, but so was the unexpected narrative. I'm not sure anyone else had the experience to pull of the role of Sonny other than Pitt. He had the right amount of weatheredness, the right amount of dark life experience to bring into the role and make it believable. I wont go into Pitt's personal life as it's none of my business, but I really liked the fact Sonny only drank water at the bar, even if it was race day the next day, it was principle. They plastered 0% beer in this movie as the usual marketing ploy, but Sonny didn't even touch that, it meant something here, a strength and personal growth for both the character and the actor.
Brad Pitt is on such a role, I've thoroughly enjoyed the last 3 of his movies that I've seen. I really enjoyed this one and it had me gripped, Bullet Train had me belly laughing and has become a regular comfort movie, and The Lost City taps on my sense of adventure every single time I watch it. It's like National Treasure but for smut readers.
I like how Pitt has moved away from his more gritty and sleazy roles. I like how he's found humourous chops and true emotions. Don't get me wrong, Fight Club is a brilliant movie and one I've seen quite a few times due to it being a movie I studied for my A-Levels, but he seemed type cast for a while. I feel his soul is a little lighter and it shows in his acting for sure.
Damson Idris in this movie was also such a big talent. He made me hate him at times but also route for him? I felt so many emotions for this kid and Idris's portrayal was spot on for this role for sure.
I had originally intended to only give this movie an 8, but the more I think about it the more my heart grows for the movie and it heavily tugs at my racing blood. So I'm giving F1: The Movie a 9/10.
This film was so much more than a fast car going round a track. That was the baseline, I never expected the film to actually have a plot and Javier Bardem looking fine in his Gucci suits was a bonus, I love that man, yet another talent I enjoyed seeing on screen that brought something to the movie rather than taking it away with his star power.
However, both Jamie and I agreed that Lewis Hamilton should stick to his day job as his acting skills are pants.
Have you seen F1? Comment on my socials with your thoughts! Feel free to send me recommendations by DM.
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