Rating: 4.25/5

Sonny Hayes/Brad Pitt is a retired Formula One driver, recruited by an old friend, Ruben Cervantes/Javier Bardem, to race for the flailing APXGP F1 team. Paired with APXGP’s rising star, Joshua Pearce/Damson Idris, the team looks to notch their first point. Hayes aims to rediscover himself and find redemption for a career cut short three decades earlier.  

The ensemble shines in this high-octane summer blockbuster. Brad Pitt presents boundless chemistry with Bardem, Idris, and Kerry Condon, who plays “Kate McKenna,” the first female technical director in the sport. The desperate manager, the rookie, the first woman, and the “never was” all have chips on their shoulders and something to prove. The actors deliver in complementary ways that provide authenticity to the bond. The cast takes the audience where the characters want them to go.

While F1 doesn’t deviate from the traditional sports drama formula, Ehren Kruger’s adaptation of Joseph Kosinski’s story is vital to the effort. The film doesn’t reside in any one moment or pairing, and that dynamic writing delivers just enough of each interaction to propel the story and up the ante with thrilling drama. If anything, there’s almost too much machismo and not enough vulnerability. There is power in quietness, especially in an exhilaratingly loud and busy world. Yet, enough vulnerability occurs between Sonny and Ruben, Joshua, Kate, and Joshua’s mother, Bernadette/Sarah Niles, as the stakes climb from racing to life.

F1 is a fun escape with visuals that feel familiar, as if they’ve come from any number of high-speed racing games with an elevated budget. By the time it’s ended, you’ll be left wondering what happens next (stay through the mid-credits), despite its apparent rewatch value.

F1 is in theaters, runs 2 hours and 35 minutes, and is rated PG-13 for mild depictions of sex and violence, and moderate profanity.