RushIt’s a story full of drama, passion, intrigue, danger and an intense rivalry.  It also happens to be true.  For Formula 1 fans, the story of the 1976 season is legendary, but even if you have never encountered F1 before, this will be a story you’ll want to see.

As a Formula 1 fan, such as myself, the history of motor racing is a rich, detailed place and one that many have enjoyed for a long time.  Much like most fans of any sport, you always want to investigate and devour the details of a season, and this might make you think that for fans, there is little new to tell, but like the other recent F1 related film, Senna, there is much here that is illuminating.

The film concentrates on the rivalry between two polarising figures, James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl).  Hunt is the raconteur, surrounded by glamorous women and living very much a party lifestyle, while Lauda is the methodical, calculating driver, more interested in the job, and survival. Both of them are greats in the sport, but come to their greatness from two very different angles.  The film follows their careers, starting from the junior formulae several years earlier and plots their rise through the ranks, noting their growing on track rivalry, and off track animosity, which also serves as a brief, very rough primer on the structure of 70s racing leading up to the pinnacle of motorsport.  (For the American readers, neither IndyCar nor NASCAR are the pinnacle of motorsport.  F1 is, but I’m sure we can have a lively debate about this!)  The critical part of the story begins when the two drivers are both competing in F1, and especially when the 1976 season starts. A season that is almost unbelievable in both negative and positive ways, and filled with courage and growing respect, against a backdrop of triumph and tragedy, from both Hunt and Lauda.

Rush

The first question I had was: Would this film be an embarrassing misstep or would it put across F1 properly?  For me, the answer was a positive one. Although I have some reservations about how the plot was presented, such as not delving into some aspects quite enough and having a relative shallow viewpoint in some regards, it holds up as one of the best motorsport films.  Previously, we have had Le Mans (1971, starring Steve McQueen) and Grand Prix (1966, starring James Garner) being the high points, with others such as Driven and Days of Thunder being less so. It has been a long time since Le Mans, so the wait for a good one has been tiresome!

Rush

Hemsworth does a fine job, against expectation, as Hunt and Daniel Brühl, unknown to many, makes his mark significantly.  These two characters, as well as many of the central figures, many of whom are still active in motorsport, are well known all over the world, so portraying them inaccurately would have been disastrous. The cast do a fine job. At no point do you question the casting.  Brühl, especially in this regard, should be commended as Niki Lauda is so well known that inaccuracy here would have been quickly picked up on.

Rush

Technically, the film evokes the 70’s very well. Giving a gritty viewpoint of racing when it was especially dangerous and Jackie Stewart’s efforts to improve safety had yet to really kick in.  Racing drivers were living on the edge and the consequences of mistakes were more often than not fatal.

Ron Howard and his director of photography, Anthony Dod Mantle, have created a visceral film full of everything necessary to get across the rawness and violence of grand prix racing in this era.  The action sequences deliver exactly what you would want and this is backed up by excellent sound work, although in the cinema I saw this film, there was not enough sub-bass to truly get across one of the best sounds an F1 car makes. I have no doubt this is the cinema’s fault and not the sound mixer! There has clearly been a lot of thought put into how to film these sections and the races envelop the viewer in a remarkable way, pulling you into the mechanical, as well as dramatic action.

Rush

Ultimately, this is a film that rids the mind of the horror that was Driven (2001), a film originally researched as an F1 film, but switched instead to a different formula. Probably because they couldn’t get across the detail and passion of F1.  In Driven, the plot was pure cliché and action movie hokum, fronted by Sylvester Stallone, and populated by simple characters.  Luckily, with the people portrayed in Rush, the depth of history is such that the filmmakers have a lot of material to draw from and this helps create recognisable and believable characters that are relatively well drawn. So, while the film does have a certain shallowness about its delivery, it is substantial enough to satisfy.

Critically, it does tick most of the boxes that an F1 fan requires, but the good thing is that it also ticks lots of boxes for non fans too.