Film Review: F1 The Movie
From The Director Of Top Gun: Maverick
INTRODUCTION
This is a quick review of the newly released film F1 The Movie. Please note that this is just one of the many movies I will have watched each year, and my initial grade for this film may change over time, for better or worse. To stay up to date on my thoughts about other movies and any potential changes in my opinion on this one, follow me on Letterboxd.
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PLOT
Via Letterboxd: Racing legend Sonny Hayes is coaxed out of retirement to lead a struggling Formula 1 team, and mentor a young hotshot driver, while chasing one more chance at glory.
REVIEW
Director Joseph Kosinski has always made movies that feel like they were designed to play on loop in your dad’s living room, the kind of high-octane, visually slick blockbusters that go down easy and stick around in casual conversation. But after the out-of-nowhere cultural juggernaut that was Top Gun: Maverick, the question was obvious, how do you follow up that kind of success? The answer, apparently, is with F1 The Movie, a high-speed Formula 1 racing drama, backed by the very organization that runs the sport, and fronted by a cast that includes Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem, and Kerry Condon.
On paper, it has all the hallmarks of a corporate-backed spectacle, a globe-trotting commercial for a sport largely dominated by the ultra-wealthy. And yet, F1 somehow manages to be more than that. Sure, it’s laden with nods for the diehard F1 crowd and offers a crash course in the behind-the-scenes dynamics of the sport, but at its core, it’s a surprisingly earnest and effective underdog sports movie. One that might just stand the test of time, even for audiences who couldn’t name a single F1 driver walking in.
To be clear, this isn’t a reinvention of the genre. It’s not trying to be. What I expected was a Maverick-esque retread, Pitt cruising in as the impossibly cool lead, virtually flawless, lifting a ragtag group of rookies with sheer charisma. What I got instead was a more grounded, character-driven story. This is the classic “team that can’t win” arc, but done with enough heart and sincerity that it pulls you in. You actually get time with the ensemble; the drivers, yes, but also the pit crew, the owner, the mechanics, the people behind the machines. By the third act, I found myself genuinely rooting for this fictional team to break their losing streak, even though I don’t follow the real sport at all.
Pitt is reliably solid here, playing veteran driver Sonny Hayes with just the right balance of faded swagger and humbled experience. He’s charming, but there’s a weariness underneath that adds dimension. Bardem, as the exasperated team owner, chews scenery with flair but never tips into parody. Condon, refreshingly, isn’t just a love interest, she commands authority in the garage and on the sidelines, giving the team a moral center. But the real revelation is Damson Idris, who plays the hotshot rookie with the right mix of ego, talent, and emotional depth. His rival and student dynamic with Pitt’s character gives the film a strong emotional throughline.
Technically, the film is an absolute knockout. The sound design is thunderous, I saw it in a Dolby theater and felt every engine roar in my bones. Claudio Miranda’s cinematography is once again next-level. Just as he brought visceral intensity to the aerial sequences in Top Gun: Maverick, here he puts you inside the cockpit of a Formula 1 car, capturing the speed, danger, and beauty of the sport with dizzying precision. The editing keeps the adrenaline pumping, though the film does feel a tad over long. And the soundtrack? Right up there with Sinners, easily one of my favorites of the year.
F1: The Movie is the kind of film that reminds you why summer blockbusters exist. It’s loud, it’s sleek, it’s emotionally accessible, and it has just enough meat on the bone to give you something to latch onto. I didn’t expect to care this much about a fictional F1 team, but Kosinski pulled it off. I give F1 The Movie an initial grade of A-. Not just the best sports movie of the year so far, for me it's one of the best films of the year, period.
GRADING
