Review
Ne Zha 2: the Chinese blockbuster nobody in the West has heard of
by Luca Fontana
F1: The Movie: the most calculated film of the year – and one of the best
24.6.2025
Translation: Megan Cornish
Everything about this film screams marketing. But that won’t stop you being lured in. F1: The Movie’s a prime example of how blockbuster cinema can be both contrived and exhilarating – if it’s done well enough.
This review contains no spoilers. Everything mentioned here has already been revealed in trailers. F1: The Movie is in cinemas from 26 June.
It’s an absolute miracle this film even exists: for two years, a film crew travelled the world with the Formula 1 circus. Brad Pitt drove real cars on real tracks, surrounded by real world champions in real paddocks. All this as part of a fictional racing team with its own pit and its own car – a Formula 2 model, which was modified by Mercedes to look almost like its Formula 1 counterpart.
This was made possible by Liberty Media, the rights holder and new power behind Formula 1. It wants to transform an elitist, European-dominated sport into a global entertainment product with Netflix series, F1 races in ever more exotic countries – and now with this film.
Is this still cinema?
The story – nothing new, but effective
At its core, the film tells a story we’ve seen a hundred times before, but it still works perfectly: Brad Pitt plays veteran Sonny Hayes, who once raced against legends like Senna, Prost and Schumacher until a tragic accident took him out of the picture. Now, 30 years later, he returns to help a young, struggling team, including a talented but cocky newcomer.
And to prove something to himself. Somehow. Or something like that.
Story sound familiar? No wonder. Top Gun: Maverick told the exact same tale three years ago – just with jets instead of Formula 1 cars. The film not only enjoyed immense financial success, but was also hailed by critics and audiences alike as a blockbuster film that’s more than just a shell. Maybe that’s exactly why director Joseph Kosinski was brought in for the F1 film.
It’s no surprise – Kosinski’s an architect of immersion. He thinks in terms of perspective and movement. In Top Gun: Maverick, he insisted that Tom Cruise actually sit in mid-air – and the camera sees his face contort into a grotesque grimace under G-forces. Now he’s done the same with Brad Pitt, who actually drives from the cockpit of a converted Formula 2 racing car.
No doubles. No green screen. Everything’s real – as confirmed by producer and seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton – and that’s exactly what you see.
The result isn’t a sports film simulating a race; it throws you right into the thick of it. The camera sticks with the cockpit – close to Pitt – and shows his muscles working. It shows how his body braces itself against the centrifugal forces. How his head jerks back and forth with every turn. The visor twitches. His breath is shallow. Then he looks over the steering wheel, and we see from his first-person perspective how the cars race through tight chicanes, wheel to wheel.
Absolute precision at 300 km/h.
Even in the cinema, it seems absurdly real. Especially when Pitt’s Sonny Hayes overtakes Verstappen’s Red Bull after a red-hot move – filmed live, seemingly in the middle of the race – and, just like on the real track, the latter gives him a piece of his mind with a frustrated hand gesture.
«Yep, I deserved that one,» Sonny quips mischievously.
Contrivance meets cinema – and I gleefully fall for it
I know how calculated this all is. I see the agenda behind this film, the branding, the strategy. I sense the testosterone-fuelled marketing that resonates with every camera movement. And yet, I’m sitting here, feeling the pulse – at the heart of the action. Not blind, not naïve, but affected on an emotional level. Why? I’ve asked myself that too. Am I really no better than this?!
Because actually, everything’s too clean. Too perfect. Sonny Hayes isn’t a character with contradictions; he’s a walking PR campaign. A tactical genius, a charismatic mentor, a rebellious free spirit, and an extremely attractive, passionate driver – oh, and he’s also pretty good at shuffling cards. His greatest weakness – if he has one – is his arrogance. But even that has charm.
It’s almost as if Pitt’s Cliff Booth from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood switched genres.
Source: Warner Bros.
Even Formula 1 itself comes out unscathed. Of course. Otherwise, Liberty Media would hardly have given up its licence. So, there’s no doping, no intrigue and certainly no moral grey areas. Just glittering paddocks, staunch rivals, commentators who explain the obvious so everyone understands what’s happening («This is not where you want to be – last place.») and motivational radio messages. It’s as if no one’s allowed to cause offence. Not the characters, the sport nor the film.
Yet it still works.
Because what sets Kosinski apart isn’t reinventing the wheel – it’s making it run like a dream. His films thrive on tried-and-true structures that are actually far too predictable to work. But they do. Kosinski takes these structures seriously. He doesn’t overdraw his characters; he gives them space. And instead of pushing the pace at all costs, he’s at least interested in the dynamics between his stereotypical characters.
Source: Warner Bros.
Like Top Gun: Maverick, it has everything you’d expect: the comeback story, the young rival and, of course, the heroic trajectory – ahem, racing corner. But there is the odd flash of surprise. There’s no major drama, no soul-baring, but moments stick with you because they don’t try to be more than they are.
Kosinski understands that a film doesn’t have to be profound to be honest. Especially not a blockbuster film with this much visual extravaganza. It lasts two and a half hours. I wasn’t bored for a single second – thanks in part to Hans Zimmer’s driving score. All of this speaks volumes about the film – or maybe I’m exactly the type of viewer Liberty Media wanted: someone who has doubts but still gets drawn in.
Mission accomplished, I suppose.
In a nutshell
Between PR coup and cinema magic
This film shouldn’t even exist. Certainly not like this. Not in the middle of real race weekends, not with Brad Pitt in a modified Formula 2 car, and certainly not as the eleventh team in the middle of the paddock. F1: The Movie is a product – obviously. A Trojan PR coup which Liberty Media wants to use to convert the last remaining doubters into fans. I can sense it.
But try as I might, I also feel something else: the power of this film. The pull. The imagery. The proximity. The elegance with which Joseph Kosinski transforms a theatrically predictable sports fairytale into an audiovisual spectacle that’s almost too well staged to be true. Of course there are clichés. Of course you know what’s going to happen from early on. But you’re still on the edge of your seat, along for the ride. From behind the wheel. At least I am.
For critical minds, it might be too soft-focus. Too slick, too polished. For me, it’s one thing above all else: big, immersive blockbuster cinema. Yes, I could give it four or even three stars for the clichés, the smooth characters and the dramatic predictability. But honestly? This is my film review. So, I decide the star rating. And I say there’ll never be another film in motorsport as incredibly authentic as this one. And unfortunately, it was awesome. So there.
Five stars. No explanation needed.
Header image: Warner Bros.
Luca Fontana
Senior Editor
Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.chI'm an outdoorsy guy and enjoy sports that push me to the limit – now that’s what I call comfort zone! But I'm also about curling up in an armchair with books about ugly intrigue and sinister kingkillers. Being an avid cinema-goer, I’ve been known to rave about film scores for hours on end. I’ve always wanted to say: «I am Groot.»
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