F1. Fast, but Only on the Emotional Surface [REVIEW]

A movie that speeds like a race car but unfortunately doesn’t reach the finish line with a full tank of emotion. Spectacular? Absolutely. Effective? Less so. If we were to judge films by the amount of adrenaline they pump into your veins and the beauty of their visuals, Kosinski’s F1 would be on the season’s podium. But if we consider more than that – narrative depth, character development, emotional stakes – this film peters out somewhere halfway through the race and falls behind at the finish. On paper, it all makes sense – Brad Pitt does his thing and still looks like a Tag Heuer-sponsored reincarnation of Steve McQueen.

The story follows a proven formula, and his young screen partner holds his own. But what does it matter if everything around them skims the surface like worn-out tires on the Bahrain circuit? The plot is as straightforward as Monza’s straights: Sonny Hayes, a legendary driver, returns after years away from the sport that chewed him up and spat him out, hoping for one last shot. An old rival and friend gives him that chance. He joins a ghost team with a young hotshot (a solid Damson Idris), a driven tech lead named Kate (a great Kerry Condon, once again underused), and the old rival-turned-mentor (Javier Bardem, seemingly having more fun playing Iron Man than delivering a compelling role). Yes – all the classic sports film ingredients are here: rebellion, comeback, generational rivalry, team spirit. The problem is, emotionally, this feels more like a test drive than a championship race. The filmmakers struggle to build tension – everything flows a bit too smoothly, with flickers of drama that fizzle out before they land. It’s clear Kosinski dreamed of a second Top Gun: Maverick.

And technically – he nearly pulled it off. The camerawork is a gem. The sound, the track shots, the cockpit footage – it’s like Drive to Survive got a Hollywood budget and the Dunkirk cinematographer. At times, you physically feel the turns. It’s pure immersion. But emotionally… you feel nothing deeper. There’s no real story to carry these characters to the starting line with any real narrative tension. Maybe that’s because F1 plays out like a Western in carbon fiber armor. A lone hero shows up to change the game. We all know how this ends – and that’s the biggest problem. There’s no surprise.

Kosinski teases some emotional depth – a past crash, trauma, the aging body, the young rookie’s ambition – but none of it is developed. When the finale should hit you in the heart, we just get another flashy turn in slow-mo. You can’t help but compare this to Top Gun: Maverick – especially since Kosinski invites the comparison. But where Maverick had the engine of nostalgia and characters we genuinely cared about, F1 is a shell on a track. Glossy, loud, dazzling – but hollow. Plot holes don’t help either – abandoned subplots, drama-generator solutions, and characters that are supposed to be archetypes but lack any life beyond what’s on screen.

In that regard, even Pixar’s Cars did a better job – and yes, there are clear parallels. And yet… I’ll defend this film on one level – as a pure cinematic experience. Even if it didn’t move me as a story, it thrilled me as a spectacle. There are moments where you feel like you’re in the car – and that’s the movie’s strength. It’s not a great film, but it’s great cinema. And as long as the race is on, the engines are roaring, and Brad Pitt flashes that roguish smile from beneath his helmet – you want to be there. Maybe that’s why it hurts more when you leave the theater and realize… there’s not much to think about. F1 is, then, the perfect commercial for Formula 1 – and proof of how hard it is to make a sports film that has not just speed, but heart. Kosinski delivers the show. It’s a pity he doesn’t deliver the story.