Starring: Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies
Written By: Ehren Kruger
Directed By: Joseph Kosinski
Studio: Warner Bros / Apple
Buy On Amazon.com

F1 is a racing movie with racing drivers, racing terms, racing scenes, racing analytics, racing training… you get it. I’m not a racing person at all, but this was still a fun one to watch thanks to the direction of Joseph Kosinski and a strong cast starring Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem, Damson Idris, and Kerry Condon.

The movie follows race driver Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt), a hired gun who takes on smaller racing gigs. He’s approached by his friend and former teammate Rubén Cervantes (Javier Bardem) to return to Formula 1 after a 30-year absence to help save Rubén’s team, APXGP, from collapse. There, Sonny has to contend with a hot-headed younger teammate, Joshua (Damson Idris), and adjust to all the new technology and rules since he last drove competitively.

I don’t even remember seeing a trailer for this, but I still wanted to check it out since the cast was stacked and the score had already caught my attention. I actually listened to Hans Zimmer’s score before even seeing the movie. For not being a car person, I thoroughly enjoyed F1, even if I didn’t really understand all the rules of Formula 1. (I didn’t even know there were teammates!) There are gripping moments, funny moments, and a few scenes that probably could have been trimmed. I thought the movie could have been cut a little.

Brad Pitt is such a naturally charming guy that he’s basically typecast at this point, but it still works. He and Javier Bardem play off each other really well, and Kerry Condon has some solid scenes with Pitt too. Damson Idris nails the cocky-young-driver role, and I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of him soon. Another drawback is that the script and story can feel a bit thin and occasionally confusing.

The strongest aspect of F1 might actually be Hans Zimmer’s score, or at least what you can hear of it. During the movie, a lot of dialogue and engine noise drown it out, especially in the racing sequences. It’s a slick, electronic score that works much better when listened to on its own. There’s a double album release with songs and the score or just the score as a separate release.

One annoying thing about this release is that it’s only available digitally through Apple. Most Warner Bros. releases usually let you redeem codes through Movies Anywhere or Fandango (Vudu), so it’s frustrating that this one doesn’t. I wish all the studios could just get on the same page so we could keep all our digital codes in one spot.

The bonus features include a handful of short featurettes covering the table read, crash scenes, racing sequences, sound design, and more. The 4K release looks extra crisp, both on the disc and on Apple TV. I actually had to switch to digital halfway through because my player overheated or something. Anyway…

F1 is a fun, flashy movie that’s far from perfect, but still worth putting on, especially if you’re a racing fan.

Features:
Inside the F1 The Movie Table Read
The Anatomy of a Crash
Getting Up to Speed
APXGP Innovations
Making It to Silverstone
Lewis Hamilton: Producer
APXGP Sets and Locations Around the World
APXGP and F1: How It Was Filmed
Sound of Speed

Video:
Codec: HEVC / H.265 (53.33 Mbps)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1

Audio:
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Audio descriptive

Subtitles:
English SDH, French, Spanish

Bottom Line: F1 is a fun movie for racing and non-racing fans alike
Running Time: 155 mins
Rating: PG-13
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating: