Movie Review

Brad Pitt auto racing film F1: The Movie has more vroom than story

Brad Pitt in F1: The Movie.

Photo by Scott Garfield / courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures and Apple Original Films

The sport of auto racing has been tackled in a variety of ways over the years by filmmakers, with the intoxicating ability of the cars to go super-fast often overriding whatever story they’re trying to tell. The Formula 1 circuit has been the subject of several films based on real drivers, and now it’s at the center of a fictional story in F1: The Movie.

Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) is an aging driver who lives an itinerant lifestyle, traveling in a van to whatever kind of racing organization will give him a chance to show his skills. Ruben (Javier Bardem), an old competitor from Formula 1 who now owns his own team, comes calling when the lead driver of his team gets injured. Soon enough, Sonny has joined up with the team halfway through their season, with rookie Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris) as his teammate.

The bulk of the film finds Sonny trying to impose his old-school ways on the modern sport, with crew members like Kate (Kerry Condon) and Kasper (Kim Bodnia) alternately bristling and marveling at his methods. Sonny and Joshua also spar, sometimes off track, but typically on, where the stubbornness of each threatens not only the success of the team as a whole, but also their safety.

Directed by Joseph Kosinski and written by Ehren Kruger, the filmmaking team tries to bring the same you-are-there feel that they did successfully in Top Gun: Maverick. And there’s no doubt that the film is at its best when it puts multiple cameras in a Formula 1 car while it navigates tight turns and speeds down straightaways, especially because it seems like Pitt and Idris actually did some of the driving. Even non-racing fans should come away impressed with what the cars and drivers are capable of.

Now, if you’re looking for any kind of story, you’ve come to the wrong place. The Sonny-Joshua rivalry has a bit of juice to it, but not much. Unlike most sports movies, the film rarely goes outside of the team, so there’s no antagonist to be found in the film. In fact, were it not for the presence of other cars in the various races, you’d think that Sonny and Joshua were the only drivers, with an annoying commentator constantly talking about them alone, even when they’re far behind the leaders.

The film also struggles with making the sport accessible for non-fans. With the winding courses the circuit uses, there’s far more to it than a car’s (and driver’s) ability to go really fast. The characters use lots of technical jargon about how the design of the car allows the driver to shave tenths of seconds off their times, but the filmmakers are not able to deliver that information in a manner compelling enough to draw the viewer in.

Pitt, as he’s been for more than 30 years, is a magnetic presence who knows how to play to the camera. Sonny is not one of his most interesting characters, but he makes the role work overall. Idris, best known for starring in the FX series Snowfall, makes the case for being the film’s breakout star, giving his character plenty of charm and cockiness. Bardem, Condon, Tobias Menzies, and other members of the team are cast well, even if the story lets them down.

As a showcase (aka advertisement) for the sport it depicts, F1: The Movie works relatively well, giving viewers a taste of what it’s like to actually be in a rocket on wheels. As a film, though, there’s not much to recommend, to the point that it almost negates any of the positives that come from the racing scenes.

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F1: The Movie opens in theaters on June 27.

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Movie Review

Post-apocalyptic film The Dog Stars tests the mettle of star Jacob Elordi

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Jacob Elordi in The Dog Stars.

There has never been a shortage of post-apocalyptic films in movie history, with the genre proving popular since it allows viewers to confront fears about the real world without actually having to experience the extreme conditions depicted on screen. The Dog Stars deals with its version of the end of the world in ways that are alternately genteel, brutal, and downright wacky.

Hig (Jacob Elordi), a mechanic and pilot, lives on a rural airfield in Colorado alongside his prepper friend Bangley (Josh Brolin). An unspecified virus has wiped out most of humanity and the two of them have banded together to survive. As the film begins, Hig is making one of his occasional plane trips to Denver, gathering medical supplies, gas, and treats for both the two of them and a group of Mennonites who live close by.

While Bangley is happy being a loner and taking out anyone who dares step foot on their property, Hig wants to try to find other survivors, especially when he picks up a scratchy radio signal from Grand Junction. A perhaps ill-advised solo journey puts him in contact with Pops (Guy Pearce) and Cima (Margaret Qualley), a father-and-daughter living on their own, along with other groups who are much less welcoming.

Directed by Ridley Scott and written by Mark L. Smith, the film is a relatively slow-paced affair that is occasionally punctuated by moments of violence. On the plus side, that allows for plenty of character development for Hig - who’s still mourning the wife he lost and has a deep bond with his dog, Jasper - and Bangley, whose go-it-alone mentality makes it a little difficult to fathom how he ever came to trust Hig in the first place.

This is no zombie movie, and so while characters still fear exposure to the mysterious virus, it’s more about the finality of death than hordes of undead coming after them. There are however, desperate individuals and marauding groups that become occasional threats, and the manner in which they are dealt with in the film can be shocking. It’s easy to feel the menace from the more organized groups, but when small duos or trios are dispatched without even a word, it tests the audience’s moral compass.

The film has a mostly meandering quality instead of a specific plot as Hig explores the area in his plane. This works for the majority of the film, but a few sequences in the final 45 minutes of the film give the story an abruptly bizarre turn, making them feel like they belong in a totally different movie. Scott and Smith manage to right the ship before the film ends, but to say those elements come out of nowhere is an understatement.

Elordi, whose recent roles (Wuthering Heights, Frankenstein) have been showier, has a solid presence here, becoming someone whose expertise and continuing grief are completely believable. Brolin makes for a nice foil as a man who gets by on machismo. Qualley, who tends to be over-the-top in her parts, keeps things low-key, which makes Cima interesting and sympathetic. Pearce goes a bit manic as the over-protective father, but it works in the context of the film.

Like a lot of post-apocalyptic films, The Dog Stars leaves you with more questions than answers, but the time spent with the characters makes up for any nagging plot discrepancies. Save for a couple of weird sections, the film stays grounded in reality, making it feel like an entertaining meditation on how life could be should disaster strike.

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The Dog Stars opens in theaters on August 28.

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