Brad Pitt moseys into “F1: The Movie” like a cowboy, rocking jeans, smirk and devil-may-care attitude. This dude, however, is more into horsepower than actual horses.
As an aging wheelman-for-hire on an underdog racing team, Pitt brings plenty of personality – and vroom-vroom steeliness – to the on-the-track thrills of the crowd-pleasing if mildly predictable “F1” (★★★ out of four; rated PG-13; in theaters June 27).
Director Joseph Kosinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer, the brain trust of “Top Gun: Maverick,” harness that same need for speed here as the immersive world of Formula 1 races into view in blistering fashion. Hairpin turns and stressful pit stops go a long way toward entertaining F1 fans and neophytes alike, though melodrama and a bloated run time put the brakes on what should be a film that zips.
Join our Watch Party! Sign up to receive USA TODAY’s movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox
After pulling the midnight shift on a 24-hour race and winning at Daytona, Sonny Hayes (Pitt) rolls out to the next driving gig in his minibus – as long as it’s got an engine and a steering column, he’s game. At a rando laundromat, he’s tracked down and recruited by his old teammate Ruben (Javier Bardem), whose Apex racing team is one of the worst in F1 and hasn’t won a point in two-and-a-half years. That and the fact Ruben is $350 million in the hole spells pink slips for him, drivers and crew alike barring a miracle.
Sonny is a guy needing some serious redemption: Known as “the greatest that never was,” he spun out professionally and personally in the 1990s, and getting a spot on Ruben’s team gives him a second chance. Immediately, he chafes with hotshot rookie Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris) and is seen as less than serious by technical director/engineering whiz Kate (Kerry Condon). While character development could use an upgrade overall, Idris and Condon are fun foils for Pitt.
Sonny and Joshua butt heads like a couple of alpha dogs, the new guy flirts hard with Kate (who puts Sonny in his place), and everybody, even the people swapping out tires, need to be a team player with only nine races to go. If this sounds like “Top Gun” with cars, well, that’s pretty much “F1.” Not that that’s a bad thing.
The movie isn’t shy about lapping many a trope, yet the white-knuckle action sequences are where “F1” lives and breathes. Kosinski wants audiences to feel the danger of essentially sitting in a rocket that can go 200 mph, and the euphoria of passing a foe in a Ferrari or having a straight line to the checkered flag. Those go a long way in forgiving the multitude of subplots and the toolbox of car cliches. (And will have you binging “Drive to Survive” soon enough.)
Like Cruise in the cockpit of a fighter jet, Pitt feels like he belongs in the driver’s seat, which goes a long way in appreciating Sonny for the entertaining mess of a man that he is. Most of us wish we looked at 31 like he does at 61, but Pitt is weathered enough to be the perfect fit for his older guy’s guy roles in “Wolfs,” “Babylon” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”
Sonny is an analog, slightly peculiar fellow who doesn’t jibe with a modern F1 landscape – while Joshua runs with a gazillion high-tech gadgets hooked up to him, the veteran is off jogging around a Grand Prix track. And watching Sonny throw his team, important races and everything else into chaos (“Plan C,” he calls it) before figuring his own issues out is delightful stuff.
“F1” leans extremely rousing, though intrigues when it mines the strategic idiosyncrasies of the motorsport and the psychological and physical toll it takes to be a champion. There’s a mental health angle touched on that, if explored more, would have led to a great albeit bleaker movie.
Not that this thing deserves a participation trophy. Watching Pitt burn this much rubber, and with macho panache, puts “F1” in the winners’ circle.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ‘F1’ movie review: Brad Pitt brings champion steeliness to racing
