Before I begin, I must say that I am a huge Formula 1 fan. Since they have been filming this around the various venues of the races over the past few years, with the cast mixing with the racers, I have been excited for a movie about the sport that I am a regular viewer of. There have been numerous films about motor racing, from the excellent documentary Senna to Ron Howard’s Rush; this, however, is an original story that puts us into the cars with the help of small IMAX cameras. Was it worth the wait? For me, absolutely!

Maverick racing driver Sonny Hayes is persuaded to come back to Formula 1 to help his friend and racing owner Rubens, whose company is on the verge of collapse after failing to score a point in any of the season’s races. Teaming up with rookie Joshua Pearce, the two men struggle to work together, especially with Hayes’ unconventional approach to racing.

Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski has gone from high-powered planes to high-powered cars, and where he succeeded in making the Tom Cruise sequel a cinematic winner, he has managed to do it again with this. It is an action-packed, adrenaline-fuelled blockbuster that has elements of old-school cinema. You sit and watch this and remember that this is how the summer movies of the 80s and 90s were: a plot that is as predictable as they come, with characters that come across as one-dimensional and yet you find yourself allowing this nonsense to get under your skin as you munch on another handful of popcorn.

The plot could be written on the back of a postage stamp. It has been played out in movie after movie: old guy returns to the world that made him famous, comes along, shakes the tree and makes an impact. I don’t even have to mention what happens by the end of the film because you probably already know. Except while this wafer-thin drama plays out, you are there for the whole thing. Sports movies can get you invested in who will win and who will lose. The added bonus is that we are in those cars, firing around the various circuits, experiencing the speed, the bumps, and the excitement of being a racing driver.

There is more to it than just racing. We do get some elements of what its like to be in the garage of a racing team, whether it be from the technical team who have to put these cars together and try and make them get faster, or working as one of the pit-team and having to cope with the pressure of getting these cars fixed with new tyres as quickly as humanly possible.

Like the hugely popular Top Gun: Maverick, this looks amazing on the largest screens possible, accompanied by the best sound, so you can hear the noises as well as Hans Zimmer’s bombastic score. Yet, there are moments when the human dramas unfold, and they are not as dire as some movies of this type. There are issues with the team on the verge of being sold, and the team principal is trying his best to keep it together. There’s the bitter relationship between Hayes and Pearce, as well as the growing relationship between Kate McKenna and Hayes, Kate being the first female technical adviser. Oh, and there’s the racing.

If the cars are the winner for this film, so is Brad Pitt. This is his film, and he doesn’t need to do anything apart from smile and give that laid-back performance you have come to expect from the screen actor. He is brimming with the kind of screen charisma that someone like Steve McQueen has. Damson Idris makes for a good opposite to Pitt’s Hayes as Pearce, the cock-sure driver who wants to outdo his new, older teammate. Javier Bardem seems to be having the time of his life as the team principal, while the acting credits definitely go to The Banshees of Inisherin’s Kerry Condon as Kate. She outacts everyone on screen.

On paper, this is rubbish. No plot, no real characters, just an excuse to watch fast cars. Yet it’s hugely entertaining, visually exciting, and you get Brad Pitt proving why he’s a movie star, with that charm that can win over anyone.

4 out of 5

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Javier Bardem, Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, Kim Bodnia, Sarah Niles, Will Merrick, Joseph Balderrama, Abdul Salis, Callie Cooke

Written by: (also story) Ehran Kruger and (story) Joseph Kosinski

Running Time: 155 mins

Cert: 12A

Release date: 25th June 2025