Achritique

Solid storyline, enough cliffhangers and suspense to avoid predictability, and like most big-budget movies today, stunning cinematography.

In a world where we are told to conform to succeed, Brad Pitt delivers a lesson in unconventional leadership – unwavering stubbornness, taking insane risks, being extremely vulnerable, but above everything, having the most authentic answer to the question:

“Why are you here?”

The power of and appreciation for unconventional leadership, both in F1 and in the real world, is only realized when it’s gone. After Sonny is briefly removed from the team, his impact on the team finally shines through; whether it’s JP taking the team for a run, or Kate preaching his mantra:

“Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.”

As an artist, I have always appreciated this philosophy – one can only speed up if they take the time to slow down and sharpen their craft.

The Racing Experience

There are dozens of movies about racecars – but F1 was the first time I felt like I was actually on the track.

I felt the crushing weight of the steering wheel and centrifugal force when trying to maneuver at 200 mph.

I felt the dizziness of blazing through the turns on the racecourse.

I felt the anxiety of the team pulling off a 2.9-second touch-up for the car before it jetted off back onto the track.

And we all felt the pin-drop silence in the theater at the midpoint of the movie when JP’s car flew off the track into tragedy.

Symbolism and Subtleties

The movie is full of symbolism.

What stood out to me were the deck of cards – Sonny’s seeming hypocrisy in berating JP for leaving success to “hope” was followed by him consistently relying on the presence of the cards to comfort him.

Final Thoughts

While the movie had a slow start, by the time the racing got going, I was fully hooked.

8.5/10