F1: The Movie Dir: Joseph Kosinski (13th Floor Film Review)
Fast. Loud. Furious. And that’s just the leading man. F1: The Movie isn’t reinventing the wheel—but with stunning visuals, big-screen-worthy action, and Brad and his Pitt crew firing on all cylinders, it keeps you firmly planted in your seat. Strap in.
Starring: Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies
Ever wanted to be so close to a Formula 1 car you can practically taste the tyre smoke—and a hint of existential dread?
Buckle up, because F1: The Movie delivers a heady cinematic combo of burning rubber and high-octane clichés—courtesy of Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski and the hasn’t-really-aged-since-he-was-interviewed-as-a-vampire-in-1994, movie star juggernaut that is Brad Pitt.
Pitt stars as Sonny Hayes, a washed-up driver-for-hire with a steely 305km stare (one for the serious F1 fans) and cheekbones you could cut carbon fibre with.
He’s joined by Damson Idris as the hotshot rookie teammate/rival, Kerry Condon as the sharp-witted team tech director, and Javier Bardem doing whatever the heck he wants—because he’s… Javier Bardem. Bonus points for Tobias Menzies, skulking impressively on the sidelines as a board member who may not actually be a team player.
Set in the glossy, high-stakes chaos of Formula One, F1 is basically what happens when you take Cars, Rush, and Top Gun, throw them into a wind tunnel, and yell “Action!” until something explodes. In this case, that something is most likely to be a tyre—or Idris’s tightly wound and tantrum-prone Joshua Pearce.
Kerry Condon injects charm and warmth between all the macho posturing. Her role as technical director—i.e., the person in charge of the car—involves a lot of staring intensely at futuristic graphs (which look suspiciously like car porn), muttering things like “downforce” and “dirty air,” whilst telling Sonny that she never gets involved with teammates, moments before snogging the face off him.
The plot? Classic underdog stuff.
Apex Grand Prix starts with a slow, multimillion-dollar vehicle the team refer to as a “shitbox,” adds mysterious “go faster” bits (technical term), wins races, then loses said bits thanks to a saboteur.
Cue a dramatic drop in the performance of the artist formerly known as Sh!tbox—then, in a shocking and completely unforeseen plot twist (ahem), the team is allowed to bolt the contentious go faster bits back on just in time for a triumphant final race in Abu Dhabi.
It’s The Mighty Ducks, if the ducks drove $140 million cars and kinda hated each other.
Brad Pitt—who at this point has either discovered the Fountain of Youth or is simply AI made flesh—plays Sonny with the weary swagger of a man who’s literally being told that he’s too old for this, roughly every 20 minutes.
The jokes about his age bounce off his expensively moisturised skin. If there’s a facelift scar in there, the makeup department deserves an Oscar—because I looked for one. Probably harder than I should have. But in my defence, that man gets a lot of close-ups.
Damson Idris plays the cocky young star with enough charisma to hold his own and does well with what he’s given. Just as his constant “attitude” starts to grate a bit, he’s given a redemption arc that gets the audience back on his side.
Sure, the whole “old legend vs. arrogant young gun” thing is about as fresh as a racetrack vending machine sandwich—but somehow, it works.
Probably because everyone involved knows exactly what kind of movie this is, and leans into it like they’re taking a corner at 305km/h. (Yes, that’s another F1 nerd reference. You’re welcome.)
The racing scenes?
Genuinely spectacular.
Shot using Apple-developed cameras built with iPhone 15 Pro tech (because of course), they’re the kind of stomach-churning, seat-gripping sequences that make you check your own pulse. Filmed during actual F1 races, the crowd reactions are real—or maybe just fuelled by a LOT of “insert sponsor here” energy drinks.
There’s a moment at the end where everyone starts hugging, confetti rains from the heavens, and you get that familiar “Wait, haven’t I seen this before?” feeling.
Yeah, you have.
But honestly? You won’t care.
Jo Barry
F1 is in cinemas from today. Click here for tickets and showtimes.
