'F1 the Movie' review: Brad Pitt excites viewers on the racetrack

MANILA, Philippines — Formula One makes the leap from small screens back to the big ones in Joseph Kosinski's "F1 the Movie" starring Oscar winner Brad Pitt.

Pitt portrays veteran driver Sonny Hayes whose F1 accident three decades ago sees him stumble through life and make ends meet whatever way he can as long as he's behind the wheel.

His former teammate Ruben Cervantes, played by fellow Oscar winner Javier Bardem, is desperate for his F1 team Apex Grand Prix to find a little bit of success and approaches Hayes for help.

Hayes reluctantly agrees even though the sport has massively changed since his crash — brand sponsorships, media calls, technological advancements — and it doesn't help that he butts heads with Apex's rookie driver Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris).

Hollywood has found refreshed liking in racing movies as seen in "Ford v Ferrari" and "Gran Turismo," very similar to the resurgence of Formula One over the pandemic because of the Netflix series "Drive to Survive."

Kosinski carries over his expertise from "Top Gun: Maverick," trading fighter pilots for race cars as he blends actual races with those of fictional drivers Hayes and Pearce, managing to give the exhiliration that such a movie demands.

There are many storylines the movie could have mainly focused on: Pearce being the second Black driver in F1 after Lewis Hamilton (a producer on the film), Kerry Condon's Kate McKenna being the first female technical director of a Grand Prix team, or a veteran American slotting back into a mainly European sport.

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Instead Kosinski's team plays it safe with the plot circling around Hayes and Pearce, and the teamwork involved in Formula One — not just the team's two drivers but even the pit crew and people on the monitors.

But this is a racing movie after all, the story can take a backseat because it's the races that shine the most.

Making that magic work are Kosinski's trusted cinematographer Claudio Miranda, an Oscar winner for "Life of Pi" and editor Stephen Mirrione, Oscar winner for "Traffic" whose filmography includes "The Revenant," "The Hunger Games" and Steven Soderbergh's "Ocean's" trilogy.

A special mention should also go to the sound design team — because F1 cars zooming past you is part of the sport's thrill — as they blend well with the score of an ever-reliable Hans Zimmer.

Pitt and Idris channel well the veteran vs. rookie dynamic and Bardem is a delight onscreen, though Condon offers a good perfomance that matches the grit of any professional driver.

Formula 1 fans will enjoy seeing Hamilton and his fellow drivers like Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, and Lando Norris getting cameos off the track, and will surely be satisfied with how the races are portrayed.

"F1 the Movie" definitely pulls off the thrilling watch it aims to be, and Formula 1 could find itself having a new wave of supporters flocking onto the track.

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