Dubbed “the greatest that never was,” Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) was FORMULA 1’s most promising phenom of the 1990s until an accident on the track nearly ended his career. Thirty years later, he’s a nomadic racer-for-hire when he’s approached by his former teammate Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), owner of a struggling FORMULA 1 team that is on the verge of collapse. Ruben convinces Sonny to come back to FORMULA 1 for one last shot at saving the team and being the best in the world. He’ll drive alongside Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), the team’s hotshot rookie intent on setting his own pace. But as the engines roar, Sonny’s past catches up with him and he finds that in FORMULA 1, your teammate is your fiercest competition–and the road to redemption is not something you can travel alone. Driven by Brad Pitt’s laidback magnetism and sporting a souped-up engine courtesy of Joseph Kosinski‘s kinetic direction, F1 The Movie brings vintage cool across the finish line. (PG-13, 2h 35m)
“Mr. Bruckheimer’s (producer) style has endured for a reason: It’s entertaining. Doom and gloom may be fine for the Oscar pictures that emerge tearfully in the fall, but summer is a great time for some vroom and zoom.” – Kyle Smith, Wall Street Journal
“Brad Pitt’s in the driver’s seat, there are fresh camera tricks designed to put you in the car with him, and there’s definitely a formula, delivered by folks who know how to make it pop and sizzle.” – Bob Mondello, NPR
“It’s Brad Pitt goes fast and then smiles at you in a slightly cheeky way. It’s the very definition of a bucket of popcorn movie. See it in on a huge big screen.” – Mark Kermode – Kemode and Mayo’s Take (YouTube)