F1 Review: Brad Pitt's Sports Drama Has Exciting Racing Scenes And A Bloated Runtime

Joseph Kosinski's new auto racing picture "F1" serves as a perfect companion piece for his 2022 ultra-blockbuster "Top Gun: Maverick." Both films employ a previous generation's pretty boy (Brad Pitt for "F1," Tom Cruise for "Maverick") inserting them into roles wherein they can stand as exemplars of old-world — and yet curiously chaste — masculinity. Once seen as upstarts and matinée idols, both Pitt and Cruise have aged into mainstream cinema's elder statesmen, where they seem determined to prove that they "still got it." These men are coaches without being fatherly, sexy without being sexual, possessed of steely determination without having a well-stated ethos. They are movie stars more than actors now, glittering, distant demigods of the multiplex. Their personal glitter and willingness to perform daring stunts (in Cruise's case) now matters far more than their craft. 

Pitt can still ply his trade when the situation calls for it. One might still remember his Oscar-nominated turn as a manic and disturbed young man in "12 Monkeys," or his tired, struggling once-was from "Babylon." His turn in "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" required more of his charm than his talent, but it was enough to net him an actual Oscar win in 2019. 

For "F1," Pitt — a producer on the film — has requested that Kosinski and screenwriter Ehren Kruger make him look as virile, as manly as possible, as capable as a middle-aged man might. This capability is expressed through Pitt's expertise with large, phallic machines. Maverick had his planes and now Pitt's Sonny Hayes, a once-promising racecar driver, has his fat-tired super-cars. Pitt also seems to have requested that all the characters around Sonny look to him like a combination lust object and sage-life demigod. Everything he says and does is correct and admirable. 

The result isn't always fun to watch, but at least there are some fun driving sequences. 

"F1" may also serve as a companion to "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" as well, as both films celebrate the ostensible importance of mediocre middle-aged white guys. Both films practically deify Pitt, seeing him as a savior, the last remaining avatar of an older world that the filmmakers clearly thought was better than this one. "F1" has the disadvantage, however, of running far, far too long. It also sports a script that presents its female lead horridly, unable to nail down her character, her dreams, or her function other than to be smitten at Pitt's frustratingly handsome features. Kerry Condon, who plays the part, is certainly a capable actress, but Kruger's underbaked script was a challenge she was unable to meet. 

Pitt's Sonny Hayes was a once-promising young upstart in the formula racing world, but never had a chance to prove himself after a spectacular accident early in his career. 30 years on, Sonny now lives in a van, seeks no glory, and takes low-rent racing gigs to feed his gambling addiction. Sonny's gambling addiction is mentioned sporadically throughout "F1," but only serves as an explanation as to how he became so impoverished; when he visits Las Vegas later in the film, he doesn't seem the least bit tempted. An old compatriot of Sonny's named Ruben (Javier Bardem) appears in his life to offer Sonny a job racing in the world's top Grand Prix, and to teach another young upstart, Joshua (Damson Idris) how to ineffably hug the track. 

Sonny, by the sheer dint of his charisma and character, quickly gets Ruben's losing racing team onto the right path. Sonny doesn't so much take charge as brattily bark instructions at people. Because Sonny is so clearly possessed of a heart of gold, however, few people get spiky, and soon learn to agree with him. 

The technical director on Ruben's team is Kate (Condon), and, boy howdy, is the character poorly conceived. She believes in her career, and resents that F1 racing is traditionally dominated by men, but she is also supposed to find Sonny unbearably attractive, reducing her to a giggly mess, even when she's trying to address some legitimate technical concerns. There is a scene in a bar early in "F1" wherein Sonny and Kate get to know one another and present their respective core ethoses, but Sonny's philosophy is unclear and Kate's banter feels like it's bouncing off of Pitt's head. It's a very bad scene. They have no chemistry, and sex is very far from the movie's mind. For a movie that aims to vaunt the powers of old-world masculinity, it doesn't seem to want to bone.

Joshua, meanwhile, is a vain and social media-focused young hopeful who, it seems, just needs a little tough love from an older white guy to fall in line. Indeed, all anyone needs to do it listen to Sonny, and their lives will improve. He's messiah of motorsports. The bodhisattva of the speedways. If only he had a spiritual dimension, like Dalton in "Road House." Or had weaknesses beyond old injuries. Sonny does carry with him the memories of a fallen father, but that phenomenon seems to be so common in the "F1" universe that two characters clink glasses merrily when they both realize they lost dads at age 13. 

By the end of the movie, some side characters have even started imitating Sonny's playing card-based good luck rituals and his habit of wearing mismatched socks. He's almost a cult leader. Sonny is a too peerlessly correct to be an intriguing protagonist, and a little too vague to be aspirational. Audiences, I suspect, are merely meant to find Pitt's "movie star dazzle" enough to distract us from his broad, bland characterization. 

Kosinski is a capable director of action, however, and presents the actual F1 car races with aplomb. He allows some off-screen sportscasters to narrate the action, so newbs like me can follow along with the fineries of Formula One. Much of the racing seems to have been achieved through actual, physical driving, which may account for the movie's well-publicized $300 million budget. Yes, "F1" is one of the most expensive films of all time. The money was not fed into a CGI, however, but into sheer, overwhelming production value. Like "Top Gun: Maverick," "F1" is efficiently slick. Also, fans of Formula One might recognize many of the real-life drivers and managers who have cameos throughout the film. If you are also an F1 neophyte, like me, merely listen for when those around you are cheering.

Sponsorships are a major part of F1 racing in real life, but it's still distracting to see so much corporate logo-flinging being done so flagrantly. The characters all inhabit weirdly sterile interiors that are emblazoned on all sides by Geico, EA Sports, and mostly Expensify. They look like interiors from the "Josie and the Pussycats" movie. There is a late-stage subplot in "F1" that involves a supporting character secretly manipulating the F1 managerial system for financial gain, but such a scheme doesn't seem so sinister in a world where people wear the Ninja Blenders logo on their clothes. 

Had "F1" been a tight 90 minutes, perhaps a lot of its more glaring writing flaws could be forgiven, or at least ignored (well, the terrible handling of Condon's character notwithstanding). But at a bloated 156 minutes, audiences will have too ample time to ponder the film's many weaknesses. The racing will be exciting — very exciting, in fact — and Pitt is certainly a movie star, but quite frankly, I can have my own midlife crisis, thank you. I don't need to watch Pitt's. 

/Film Rating: 4.5 out of 10

"F1® The Movie" opens in theaters on June 27, 2025.