Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

F1 : The Movie

This film is one of the most pulse pounding and thrilling films of the year Brad Pitt and the creative team involved have given a treat with this slick action blockbuster that reminds us why we fell in love with old fashioned sports thrill rides like this. Now coming off the massive success of Top Gun : Maverick Joseph Kosinski tops himself once again with yet another exhilarating story this time around the sport of formula one. Brad Pitt delivers one of his finest performances in this film I think his character work and emotional grit of the character is amazing and then you have a truly solid breakout performance from screen newcomer Damson Idris who is so so good in this film having to go toe to toe with Brad Pitt and holding his own amazing well in a truly dazzling performance. F1 is a reminder to why we love movies and again is all done practically no green screen no big use of CGI it is all done in camera. This film is so fun on all levels from racing sequences, the performances, score, editing, sound design all of it captures the fun  anxiety and love of formula one in one of the years most enjoyable blockbusters.  

Firstly,  The whole team involved should be applauded for their amazing hard work they put towards this film as it paid off massively resulting in one of the best blockbuster films of the year! Now I remember when this film was announced years ago and Brad Pitt was going to do this formula One film with the director of Top Gun : Maverick and hearing that collaboration yes I was very excited as I know how impressive the practical artistry that was put into the Top Gun sequel and having that now be geared towards Formula One I knew could be something very special. So I deliberately  did not watch any trailers after the teaser dropped for this film almost a year ago as I wanted to be genuinely surprised of what Brad Pitt and everyone else had in store for how this film could be done as it was shot for a long time on location against real drivers. The film takes the old dog approach what I mean by that is the race team is at the end of their ropes in popularity and a old friend comes to pitch to Brad’s character to help save their image and now as we have seen this premise many many times before the way it is done is what makes the film enjoyable. Some have called it predictable or cheesy even and I will say does it use old themes that aren’t that much different from films of the past sure but it is in the way the filmmakers went about the story that makes it stand out the way it does. It has great uses of the theme of wanting to prove yourself regardless of age and having a shot at a age old dream and wanting to see that become realized and the sheer passion and energy that comes from the entire crew you can feel through the whole film as they put together a pulse pounding story that is magnetic and a massive love letter to Formula One but also to old school blockbusters of this genre. What makes this film work so well is the commitment to the topic and genre of Formula One and the way they use in camera practical stunt driving with the actual actors doing 95% of all the stunt work which only heightens  the intensity of the scene and just draws views in that more the entire cast of actors and creative team involved need a massive round of applause for their commitment to go above and beyond to deliver the most exciting Formula One film while showing it in a way that is Also as realistic and practical as possible. The plot itself may be very overly used but the use of the driving sequences, score and sound design far make up for the overused plot. The film walked a fine line as it services fans of the sport for sure and satisfies the thirst of what people have come to love about the completive and intensely fan driven thing we know as Formula One but they also access it in a way that if you have never tuned into a race or engaged into the fan base you can still enjoy the film for what it is. And being able to give both audiences what they want and deliver on that was amazingly well handled. The film executes beautifully the tone and sheer style of the film keeps you invested into the characters of Damson Idris and Brad Pitt while keeping you on edge not knowing where the film will go next. Sure as I mentioned the plot is a bit overused but it is all in the way we get to the finish line that makes it really memorable and the sheer love passion and hard work from everyone involved that made this a stand out sports film instead of just another run of the mill sports film.

Secondly, The performances from both lead actors was so so good! Now as I highly praised earlier I think this is Brad Pitt’s finest work at least since Babylon due to the complexities of this character and the way he goes about exploring this veteran of the sport. Brad Plays this rough and rugged guy who has seen his fair share of bad luck in terms of his career and he knows he is talented but just had never had the life he had hoped for due to a traffic moment in his career that still haunts him. The emotional vulnerability he brings and how he peels back the skin of this character as the film evolves was a great presentation of his emotional strength we have not seen him access to this magnitude in some time. Then you have Damson Idris who plays this up and coming hotshot who feels he deserves the fame and popularity due to his skill and at first he comes off very aggressive but as the film excels we see why he is so intense about his image. Damson Idris soars in a breakout performance that I hope garners a lot of attention for him as the chemistry he also shares with Brad onscreen is magnetic. Kerry Condon also gives a tremendous supporting turn along with Javier Bardem both of them are fantastic in the screen time they have bringing great emotional depth and weight to the scenes they’re in. Overall the whole cast did a terrific job but it is the work of Pitt and Idris that walk away with the film in terms of performance. 

Lastly, F1 : The Movie is one of the years most fun and thrilling blockbusters that has a ton of great action, heart and soul that will satisfy fans of the sport but also keep the average film viewer locked in until the very end. F1 reminds us of why we fell in love with movies with the sheer passion and amazing style of films like this and I believe F1 will become a massive hit with dads and film fans as well as it is both a love letter to Formula One but also a homage to old school filmmaking at it’s finest hour in ways we don’t really see be done like this anymore. F1 is a damn good film and will be among some of people’s favourite of the year for sure I recommended people check this film out on the biggest screen possible with the best sound system to get the full experience of this film the way it is meant to be seen. 

This film centres on a racing team struggling for their identity and when things get dire they call in an old cowboy of the sport to help rebrand their image even though he has a interesting way of doing things to get them attention 

Rated PG - 13 : Strong Language|Action

Brad Pitt : Pitt delivers what I think is his finest performance since 2022! Now I thinK Brad Pitt gives sensational work in whatever he does I do think though when he does character centred films with a ton of depth for him to sink his teeth into is when he gives some of his best work examples being Moneyball, Fight Club, Babylon I would even say his work in Burn After Reading which is such a slept on great performance of his that does not get nearly the love that it should. Here he plays this rugged old sports star that has been through a string of bad luck and was the heartthrob back in his heyday but that time has passed and now he lives in his van and even has to brush his teeth when showering as he has no place to live he just goes where his next gig takes him. We have no idea what led him to such hardships until it is revealed later that due to a tragic blow that happened on the track that day way back when and has to this still lingered in trauma that he has a tough time coming to grips with. When we first see him with people it is so hard not to already like him for his charm and fun swagger in the way he presents himself as this very confident sure of himself person when on the inside he is going through such emotional pain and anxiety. As the film progresses and we see him go and help Formula One rebrand this one team he has a very old school look on things in terms of how to make their presence on the track known again and he used to be labeled as reckless and cocky in his day for the way he went about things which is exactly what he does he has not changed in terms of the way he handles his work on the track he brings that same mentality to Formula One even though the way he deals with things a lot of people have a tough time accepting the new ways of doing things as he is met with a lot of criticism and resistance. He just wants to get in the car and race he knows that is in his blood and that is what he is meant to do what I love about his character is he is not chasing a payday or fame he just wants to make his mark on driving and he has his own personal reasons of why he has such a deep love for the sport but he keeps that to himself we aren’t really revealed much of why he just wants to be behind the wheel and I love that. We are not spoon-fed everything about him their are bits we are told through the course of the film that helps paint a picture of the man behind the wheel for sure but their is this mysterious aura of why he does certain things that never get fully revealed. Example is when he always goes on the track he carries a playing card in his pocket and never looks at it before he gets on the track and their is a moment where he forgets to bring it on the track with him and he missteps that day and has a not so great performance. That though is a great classic example of showing and not telling about a character as in the entire film it is never explained to us why he has them why it affects him to such a great deal we the audience can chalk it up to it being a good luck charm but it may be that it may not we don’t know and having it being open to interpretation makes it that more fun in learning of the character.  We see that he keeps to himself as he does not want to get hurt but also just keep it about the racing despite one of his co workers prying to try to get beneath the surface of all this macho super confident mentality he shows off that he knows is not his full self. Brad Pitt brings the cool guy factor to the role within minutes and has you captivated by him oozing charm and great charisma but at the same time he does have moments of frustration, outbursts of anger and wanting to be the best driver to help lift up this team and the way Brad emotionally brings that to the screen was great a lot of his best emotionally strong scenes are all without words and are conveyed with a look in his eye and his great ability to read a scene emotionally all through his body language. He is able to show the calm and collected confidence on the outside of who this man is but also show the inner anxiety and pain of him when he is alone and that is what makes this character shine in my opinion then some of Brad’s recent roles is due to his ability to strip away so many parts of himself and show his heart on the screen in a performance that has so much depth to it. He is cool, emotionally charged, romantic and funny their are great moments of humour he has too that works greatly into the scenes that never feels forced or misplaced Brad Pitt Shines in this film in a role that may be one of his finest to date and exploring so many aspects of who this cowboy driver is.

Damson Idris : Idris gives such a terrific performance! Now this actor has had roles in films over the last couple of years but his presence and impact on this role will have probably the biggest success rate for him after what comes from this role he plays. He plays a young and up and coming race car driver that has been doing what he needs to do to show his importance on and off the track the only downfall to him is his arrogance. He thinks in his mind he needs a strong social media dominance and to have heavy sponsorship and if he is heavily liked and can win people over that he will have a strongly liked profile.  We see the competitive nature happen between him and Brad Pitt’s character from the very first day as they are constantly clashing if it is on the track and then their personality types are so far apart they cannot see eye to eye as he thinks he is their to try to outshine him and in his eyes he does not need the help as he seems himself as the best person for the Job. Brad is a team player and knows that in order for this team to succeed they need to work together and not against one another so if he lets Damson’s character win the races everyone involved wins in the end and Brad is able to take the second place in terms of credit if it means he gets to be the representation of the future of this team. Damson Idris is too stuck in his ways to see that he is trying to just work with him and not against him and the way he goes about presenting that arrogance and hostility around Brad was brilliantly shown as you can see the simmering anger and resentment in his eyes and it is just constantly bubbling under the surface of his eyes and body language. You can see he wants to help the company but is going about it in all the wrong ways and his way of being so self absorbed about himself prevents him from seeing the damage he actually is not just doing to the company but to his brand as well. Idris plays this young up and comer with such fire in his heart and passion in his eyes that he is hungry for fame and will do whatever means to get his way including resisting to help when it is thrown his way Damson Idris had to go toe to toe with one of the most well known A listers in the game Brad Pitt and that is no easy feat he was able to hold his own and make his character stand out in a performance that has a great impact on the over arching narrative. His character as well goes on a fantastic arc that shows him as this arrogant young driver in the beginning and by the end he is an entirely different person and the progression of that arc is amazingly well shown through the emotional depths he goes on through the course of the film as Damson Idris shows his emotional range of why this person carries himself the way he does and with each word he utters he speaks it with such meaning and has a great weight dramatically to his line delivery that just hits you square in the chest. Damson Idris gives a compelling performance in this film that is among one of the best breakout performances of the year and I hope to see a lot of success come his way as he shows here his great ability to deconstruct this character in a way that makes him stand out next  to a cinematic giant and soar onscreen still with a great onscreen presence Damson Idris is amazing in this film!

Joseph Kosinski : Kosinski has crafted another technical marvel that is a feast for the eyes! Now coming off the huge success of Top Gun : Maverick and coming back together  with Hans Zimmer to compose the score made me so giddy to know he was going to take the same approach in terms of realism for the story as he did for Maverick. Exploring the world of Formula One is such a great way into the world as the fandom for it is so big and then you throw the massive star of Brad Pitt front and centre to helm the film is such a strong pitch right their. Now I will say the only weak point of the film is the way the plot is structured as we have seen this type of film before with this kind of plot that has been explored many times over I am not saying the formula one story but the old sports star coming in that whole trope we have seen time and time again so does it retread water we have seen before yes it does for sure. That being said in the way they get to the end of the film and the sheer design of how the film is packaged is what makes this film stand out as using Brad practice for months on end along with the other actors to do this all for real on top of the way the sequences were shot to the score and sound design all of that is heavily why this film is so stunning to watch is due to the commitment to practical old school filmmaking techniques. He takes the same mindset he had for Maverick as I mentioned and applies it to cars this time and then also throwing as much information he could gather about Formula One racing and all the technical aspects and make the closest realistic depiction to the sport that he could craft and it paid off hugely. As this film is a love letter to fans that are in love with F1 but also he was able to make the film mainstream enough that people who are casual viewers can still enjoy it and digest it in a way that never feels overly complicated and you don’t have to have a deep understanding of Formula One to enjoy the film and he walks both lines so greatly. The themes he touches on in this film is about legacy, following your dreams and trying to accomplish them even if your many years later in your life it is still possible and sure some may label the way he presents said themes in a cheesy way but I got so locked in and engaged within the world he painted and it’s great characters as you can see everyone put their best foot forward to give the best work they could for this film and it shows in the finished product. This film is done in a way that is made for the theatrical experience and it is such a great popcorn flick that I will see so many people labeling this as their favoruite of the year due to the sheer enjoyment factor this film gives audiences as it is a thrilling ride that people will want to revisit over and over Joseph Kosinski has crafted a film with a predictable but fun narrative that is a technical genius film that will be studied and praised by so many of his use of in camera techniques to capture the pulse pounding scenes In the film while also giving a great summer blockbuster people will go crazy for this is a truly great film and none of it would of been possible if it wasn’t for him and the creative team behind the project he did a truly solid job at brining this film to the screen.