Apple Studios, Monolith Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Plan B Entertainment and Dawn Apollo Films’ F1: The Movie (dubbed from Hollywood film F1; UA) is a sports drama film.
Once a Formula One race driver, Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) refuses to retire in spite of severe injuries from a crash having ended his Formula One career. One day, his Lotus teammate, Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), who owns the APXGP F1 team, offers Hayes to participate in the nine remaining races so that Hayes can win a race and thereby save the team as investors are ready to fire him otherwise.
Hayes reluctantly joins the team but has problems with talented rookie driver Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris). Hayes also has trouble adjusting to modern Formula One machinery but team principal Kaspar Smolinski (Kim Bodnia) sees the potential in him. Hayes makes up with Pearce but their relationship changes very often. How Hayes ultimately saves Cervantes’ team forms the crux of the drama.
Joseph Kosinski and Ehren Kruger have written an interesting story but it doesn’t offer much novelty and follows the template format of such films. Ehren Kruger’s screenplay is interesting and engaging, more for the class audience. The drama will be liked by the city audience who frequent multiplexes but not by the audience of smaller towns and single-screen cinemas, generally speaking.
Brad Pitt shines as racer Sonny Hayes. Damson Idris performs well as Joshua Pearce. Kerry Condon is natural as APXGP technical director Kate McKenna who has an affair with Sonny Hayes. Javier Bardem lends fine support in the role of Ruben Cervantes. Tobias Menzies makes a mark as APXGP board member Peter Banning. Kim Bodnia has his moments as APXGP team principal Kaspar Smolinski. Shea Whigham is good as Chip Hart. Will Merrick (as race engineer Nickleby), Joseph Balderrama (as race engineer Rico Fazio), Sarah Niles (as Pearce’s mother), Samson Kayo (as Pearce’s cousin and manager), Abdul Salis (as APXGP chief mechanic Dodge), Callie Cooke (as Jodie), and the others provide able support.
Joseph Kosinski’s direction is praiseworthy. His narrative style gives the audience a number of exciting moments. Hans Zimmer’s background music is fantastic. Claudio Miranda’s cinematography is outstanding. Production designing (Ben Munro and Mark Tildesley) is of a fine standard. Stephen Mirrione and Patrick J. Smith’s editing is super-sharp. Dubbing is excellent.
On the whole, F1: The Movie is an entertaining film which will do fairly well in ‘A’ class centres and in good multiplexes. It will not appeal to the single-screen audience and the public of smaller centres. The original English version, released simultaneously, will fare much better.
Released on 27-6-’25 at Gemini (daily 3 shows) and other cinemas of Bombay thru Warner Bros. Pictures (India) Pvt. Ltd. Publicity: average. Opening: dull. …….Also released all over. Opening was quite low. However, the opening of the English version was very good in the good multiplexes of Bombay and other big cities.