F1 is not the best movie I have seen this year. It is formulaic, predictable, frequently absurd, and more than a little bit shameless. But while it is not the best, it is the most roaringly entertaining, a nearly perfect summer movie fueled by real movie star charisma, heart-stopping racing footage, and more than a little bit of old Hollywood magic.
The movie stars Brad Pitt as an aging, jack-of-all-trades race driver pulled onto a failing Formula 1 as a last-ditch effort. He matched with scruffy Javier Bardem as the team owner, and tough-minded Kerry Condon as the car engineer and love interest. It's directed by Joseph Kosinski, who put Tom Cruise in a fighter jet for Top Gun: Maverick, and it similarly features can-you-believe-it footage taken with real actors driving at high speed in actual Formula 1 cars. It's written by Ehren Krueger, an old Hollywood hand who has scripted Transformers sequels, big-budget Disney remakes, original thrillers, and a Scream movie. The pulsing, pummeling score comes from Hans Zimmer, the man who gave us so many summer movie BWAAAHMs.
These are all Tinseltown pros, and they all add something important to the movie.
