“F1: The Movie” Review Round-Up: Brad Pitt & Damson Idris Blaze Through Joseph Kosinski’s High-Octane Racing Drama
The reviews are in, and F1 has roared onto the scene with all the sound, speed, and spectacle one could hope for in a modern racing blockbuster. Helmed by Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski and bolstered by real Grand Prix footage and a star-powered cast led by Brad Pitt and Damson Idris, F1 is being hailed as a slick, turbo-charged thrill ride, doing for the race track what Maverick did for the fighter-jet-carved skies.
In F1, Pitt plays Sonny Hayes, a once-promising Formula One driver coaxed out of semi-retirement for a final shot at glory. He joins APXGP, a struggling team $350 million in the hole, led by Javier Bardem’s Reuben Cervantes. There, he’s partnered with British rookie Josh Pearce (Idris), a rising star with as much ego as talent. The two drivers clash, learn, and inevitably find common ground — all while navigating the pressure-cooker world of elite racing. Real drivers, real tracks, and a thunderous Hans Zimmer score make F1 feel immersive, intense, and, at times, deeply emotional.
Kosinski’s decision to shoot during real F1 races pays off in what The Hollywood Reporter’s Lovia Gyarkye calls “a high-octane adventure” that impressively “threads the realities of Formula 1 into its fictional narrative.” Gyarkye praises the film’s use of actual racing environments, its sharp visuals, and nuanced intergenerational tension between the leads, noting that “there are scenes in F1 that put viewers in the car so as to translate the feelings conjured by such proximity to, well, death.”
Even though F1 races on a well-worn narrative track, co-writer/director Kosinski, his co-writer Ehren Kruger, and the cast consistently keep the movie moving at a thrillingly breakneck speed, and backed by such winning performances and a dedication to evoking the chills and thrills of real races, the destination still feels fresh. As The New Yorker writer Justin Chang has it, “Again and again, F1 finds fresh pathways into familiar material; it keeps its surface-level moves unpredictable even though its overarching trajectory isn’t.”
The chemistry between Pitt and Idris is a clear draw, with F1 mining generational and cultural contrasts to compelling effect. Gyarkye highlights the film’s nods to diversity in the sport, particularly through the inclusion of Lewis Hamilton — Formula 1’s first and only Black driver — who also served as producer and makes a brief but powerful appearance. “It feels like a nod to the future,” Gyarkye writes, “in which access to Formula 1 becomes less prohibitively costly and therefore more inclusive.”
Kerry Condon, playing pioneering technical director Kate McKenna, adds further emotional depth and credibility to the APXGP team dynamic. And fans will spot real-life racing superstars like Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, and Lando Norris making cameos as the film speeds through a fictionalized but recognizable 24-race season.
With nearly every critic praising the perfect fit that is Brad Pitt playing an older, apparently washed-up racer with some gas left in the tank, Consequence‘s Liz Shannon Miller wonders what it was like for another star around the same age to watch the pyrotechniques Pitt’s involved in during the film. “While Tom Cruise already did his big race car movie back in 1990, it’s easy to imagine him watching F1 and seething with jealousy. Because the racing sequences look like they were as thrilling to shoot as they are to watch.”
Empire Magazine’s Sophie Butcher marvels at Kosinski’s ability to make riveting, fresh-feeling cinematic material out of beastly machines like fighter jets and race cars. “Joseph Kosinski has done it again. F1 combines unparalleled access, pioneering filmmaking, and moving redemption arcs to deliver an exhilarating cinematic experience. What will he attach a camera to next?”
The AP’s Jake Coyle agrees, calling F1 “a fine-tuned machine of a movie that, in its most riveting racing scenes, approaches a kind of high-speed splendor.”
With F1: The Movie hitting theaters on June 27 ahead of a streaming release on Apple TV+, buckle up. Whether you’re a diehard racing fan or just love a good comeback story, F1 is designed to leave your pulse racing.
Featured image: Caption: (L-r) DAMSON IDRIS as Joshua Pearce and BRAD PITT as Sonny Hayes in Apple Original Films’ “F1® The Movie,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
