By the time the Formula One circus returns to Austria after next weekend in Canada, F1 The Movie will have been released in Cinemas across the world. The initial response from the critics has been one of overwhelming support as the movie by Joseph Kosinski, the director of Top Gun: Maverick, has today received widespread accolades from those who have attended a pre-release showing.
‘A high octane summer blockbuster’ is how the film is billed as the critics say this is another must-see thrill ride with great action sequences and strong dramatic performances from its cast. Also, this is another blockbuster this year that must be seen on an IMAX screen.
The reviews are so good, the movie itself is surely going to be a disappointment and this would be no surprise given Hollywood over the decades has failed to produce many motor racing films which are any good. The now iconic Le Mans filmed during the 1970 24 hour race featured pi up star Steve McQueen.
Le Mans becomes a cult classic
High on hype this movie was not well received by the general public with the biggest criticism that there was no script or direction. The actual filming of the shots with the technology actable back then was in fact incredible, but that was as far as the accolades went. The 2015 documentary Steve McQueen: The Man and Le Mans many years later detailed what a train wreck the whole project was, and was really much more interesting than the film itself.
Yet Le Mans is now viewed as a cult classic. Its scenes once void of narration and storylines are now perceived as art and the lack of direction is akin to a jazz improvisation session where who knows what might come out as the camera is almost allowed to rove autonomously.
Le Mans was pre-dated by another failed Hollywood attempt at delivering a motor racing movie, Grand Prix. Here the most daring drivers in the world gather to compete for the 1966 F1 championship. American driver Pete Aron (James Garner) is dropped by his sponsor but refusing to quit F1 rejoins a Japanese Racing Team – all whilst juggling his torrid love affair with an ex-team mates wife. Shades of what was to come in Taledega Nights also saw Pete having to contend with Jean-Pierre Sari (Yves Montand), a French contestant with two world titles to his name already.
This film was in fact a success including real life racing footage and cameo appearances from F1 cha moons, Phil Hill, Granada hill, Juan Manuel Fangio, Jim Clarke, jochen Rindt and Jack Brabham. A number of other drivers from the period appeared in the movie which was one of the top ten grossing films of the year. Grand Prix won three Oscars for technical disciplines.
Rush a success with a small budget
Brad Pitt is not the only in vogue star who wants to make a motor racing movie and many before have tried and failed. The 2001 movie “Driven,” directed by Renny Harlin and starring Sylvester Stallone, focuses on the world of auto racing and the intense competition between drivers. The film explores themes of ambition, rivalry, and the human element behind the high-speed, high-stakes world of racing. Yet it was a terrible flop.
Some critics labelled the movie “so bad, it’s good” but the unbelievable nature of the crashes made a demolition derby look tame and so the scenes became completely unbelievable. The continuity camera shots between road course races and ovals was also shockingly bad. They did get right how much damage a loose manhole can cost a driver, as recently evidenced by Carlos Sainz at the inauguralLas Vegas Grand Prix.
Before F1 the movie, nobody has made a proper attempt to create a Hollywood blockbuster movie about motorsport, where the realism of the on track action engages the true fans of the sport but there is a credible story line along with the action.
Rush was a successful small budget movie from Ron Howard and his $38m cost in making the film translated into three times the amount at the box office. Yet Rush was fatally flawed for many F1 fans as the rivalry between the supposed James Hunt and Niki Lauda characters felt contrived and James Hunt himself was too constrained in his excesses – if many of the airline hostess stories published by the Daily Mail are to be believed.
Days of thunder makes a small profit
So the critics reviews of F1: The Movie is a promising start for Joseph Kosinski, however it could be the real F1 fans who decide whether this movie is a success or not. With a budget in excess of $300m, F1: The Movie needs captivate non-F1 fans attention for this to be a true financial success, which it may achieve with blockbusting actor Brad Pitt front and centre.
Days of Thunder was a financial success back in the 1990’s but it received very mixed reviews from there critics and the over-the-top special effects and plot resembled the ridiculous story from an earlier Bruckheimer, Simpson, Scott and Cruise vehicle – Top Gun – which broke the box office just four year’s earlier.
Son how will F1: The Movie do? Had this been produced ten year’s ago, the prognosis wold have been less favourable. Since the advent of the Netflix series “Drive to Survive,” a surprising number of American folk now have even heard of F1. It is they who will decide whether the movie is a hit – and not the fans of the sport – and with $300m to recoup it is the masses who need to get inspired by motor racing.
Will F1 redefine motor racing movies?
‘Old Hand comes out of retirement to help praising young gun’ – not a new story line if you ask Paul Newman about the pool halls of Nevada. Yet there’s a chance this first huge money motor racing film may just crack the missing formula from such movies, which stretch as far back as 1932 in “When the crowd roars”, starring James Cagney.
Careers are often defined by a terrible movie, although this is unlikely to happen to Brad Pitt and Idris Elba. In fact a terrible racing movie may not be be fatal as the life and times of Al Pacino proved. Just three years after a career defining role, cast as Michael Corleone in Godfather II, he starred in the awful 1977 film, “Bobby Deerfield. ” This was about American F1 driver (Al Pacino) who falls in love with a beautiful but moody woman (Marthe Keller), who is facing a terminal illness…… yes, the plot is as equally terrible and boring as it sounds, however lucky for Pacino, he had already made his life defining film three years earlier.
F1: The Movie will add to the wide and varied catalogue of motor racing movies, whether it will become the definitive moment in that genre, only time will tell? Or will it become a footnote in another Hollywoods star studded career
Red Bull’s master plan uncovered
Red Bull in P4 has a silver lining – Red Bull Racing were formed from the ashes of the Ford owned Jaguar F1 Racing team in 2005 and despite the recruitment of Adrian Newey spent four years before they claimed a top four finish in the constructors’ championship. Since that second place in 2009, Red Bull have just once finished the year in P4 or below.
Their worst result since of fourth was in 2015 when Daniel Ricciardo and Russian Danny Kvyat were driving for the team, which that season was battling with an underpowered Renault power unit.
Now the six times world champions find themselves languishing in P4 after the recent Spanish Grand Prix, where Yuki Tsunoda failed to score and Verstappen suffering a penalty post the chequered flag, was classified in P10 scoring just a single point….. READ MORE
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
