REVIEW — “F1® The Movie”

Brad Pitt is fearlessly cool in F1® The Movie, an impressively crafted, cinematic tour de force from director Joseph Kosinski that will rattle every single one of your senses.

From Apple Original Films and filmmaker Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick), the high-speed, action-packed cinematic rush follows Sonny Hayes (Pitt), a former FORMULA 1 driver once dubbed “the greatest that never was,” until an accident on the track in the 1990s nearly ended the most promising phenom’s career. 

Thirty years later, he’s a nomadic racer-for-hire when he’s approached by his former teammate Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), owner of struggling FORMULA 1 team, APX GP, that is on the verge of collapse. Ruben convinces Sonny to come back to FORMULA 1 for one last shot at saving the team and being the best in the world. 

As APX GP’s new driver, he’ll drive alongside Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), the team’s hotshot rookie intent on setting his own pace. But as the engines roar, Sonny’s past catches up with him and he finds that in FORMULA 1, your teammate is your fiercest competition—and the road to redemption is not something you can travel alone.

Pitt’s Sonny is a carefree race car cowboy who’s chasing the rush, not the money, while Idris’ “J.P.” is memorably cocky as the winless rookie who lacks maturity and is afraid of losing his seat to the experienced Sonny. Their dynamic is very reminiscent of the Iceman/ Maverick rivalry of the original Top Gun, just as Sonny’s growing romance with car designer Kate (the delightful Kerry Condon) mirrors Maverick’s relationship with Kelly McGillis’ Charlie character.

All of these similarities help make the overall story of this FORMULA 1 epic seem rather formulaic. Like it was basically pitched as “Top Gun with FORMULA 1 cars.” Produced by Pitt, Kosinski, Jerry Bruckheimer, and seven-time FORMULA 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton, the film also features a tensely ticking score by composer Hans Zimmer that reminds of Daft Punk’s electronic score from Kosinki’s Tron: Legacy.

That’s not to say the film isn’t immensely entertaining with fun dialogue and exhilarating action. Directed by Kosinski from a screenplay by Ehren Kruger, the film was shot during actual Grand Prix weekends as the team competes against the titans of the sport. And just as Kosinski’s Top Gun sequel strapped cameras in the cockpit of a high-flying fighter jet, the filmmakers place audiences right in the driver’s seat of a FORMULA 1 race car in F1® The Movie. 

The result is a thrilling rush that can be overstimulating at times as each race intensifies. However, watching these race scenes is a mind-blowing experience that will have you leaning back in your seat, burying your head into your headrest, and bracing for the next turn. For these scenes alone, especially in IMAX, F1® The Movie is definitely worthy of making a Pitt stop at the theater. 3.5/5

F1® The Movie also stars Tobias Menzies, Sarah Niles, Kim Bodnia, Abdul Salis, Callie Cooke, Samson Kayo and Shea Whigham. Distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures and rated PG-13 with a running time of 2 hours, 36 minutes, F1® The Movie opens only in theaters and IMAX nationwide on June 27, 2025.