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"F1: The Movie" Review — Brad Pitt’s IMAX Western Disguised as a Racing Film

Updated: 1 day ago

Brad Pitt as Sonny Hayes, a race car driver in a white suit standing beside a car on a cloudy day at a racetrack. Logos visible on suit. Focused expression.
Brad Pitt in "F1: The Movie" (image courtesy of Warner Bros. Philippines)

I’ve never really followed Formula One — and that’s coming from someone who does obsess over everything from Oscar predictions to comic-con trailers, but somehow never found the energy to decode pit stops and grid penalties or figure out why people get so hyped about tire strategies or pole positions. So imagine my surprise when F1, the film, not the sport, completely pulled me in — not because it tried to explain every detail or hand-hold its way through the rules, but because it went full throttle into telling a story about people who love something so much they’d destroy themselves to win at it, and honestly, that’s more relatable than any formation lap could ever be.

Directed by Joseph Kosinski — yes, the guy who gave us Tron: Legacy and Top Gun: Maverick, which both had feelings attached to their action sequences instead of just loud noises and cool visuals — F1 is less a straightforward sports movie and more of a modern-day Western with Brad Pitt wearing a racing suit instead of a cowboy hat, and honestly? It works. He plays Sonny Hayes, a grizzled, once-great driver now bouncing between odd gigs behind the wheel, whether that’s semi-pro racing circuits or being a literal taxi driver, and he’s the kind of character who speaks softly, looks like he’s already lived four lifetimes, and gives off the vibe that he doesn’t need anyone’s approval but ends up earning it anyway. When former teammate Ruben (Javier Bardem, brilliantly chaotic) ropes him into helping out with APXGP — the struggling F1 team no one expects to survive the season — you already know what kind of story this is going to be, but the way it’s staged and performed makes it feel lived-in rather than formulaic, and you can’t help but root for these messy, doomed people.

Javier Bardem and Tobias Menzes, one with glasses, appear focused in a crowded indoor setting. The atmosphere is tense, with bright lighting.
Javier Bardem and Tobias Menzes in "F1: The Movie" (Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Philippines)

In a film where nearly every element is firing on all cylinders, the dynamic between Pitt’s Sonny and Damson Idris’ Joshua Pearce stands out as one of its most compelling engines. It starts off tense, almost antagonistic, because Pearce thinks Sonny’s here to steal his shot and the spotlight and maybe his entire career, and that tension doesn’t magically vanish just because they start winning, which is such a refreshing thing to see in a sports movie where usually once the training montage ends, everyone’s magically best friends. Kerry Condon, as Kate McKenna, the team’s tech director, walks the perfect line between deadpan exasperation and fierce competence, and the way she interacts with both Sonny and Ruben gives the team dynamic this believable, chaotic energy — like this is a real group of people who’ve spent way too much time stuck in paddocks together with too much coffee and too little sleep.


But if you think you’re coming to F1 just for the drama, let’s be honest — you’re here for the races. And my god, does it deliver.

The racing sequences in F1 are something else entirely. Kosinski and longtime cinematographer Claudio Miranda have basically hacked cinema to put you inside the cars — like, not just from the sidelines or the pit wall or some drone shot overhead, but inside the machine, like you’re strapped in with the characters and can feel the vibrations of the engine in your chest and the air pressure change when they hit 200 mph and the moment just before impact when your breath catches and your eyes widen because you realize you’re watching this in a dark room with surround sound and it genuinely feels like you’re about to crash into a wall. It’s immersive, it’s disorienting in a good way, and it’s exactly the kind of sensory overload that IMAX screens were made for — if you’re not watching this in IMAX, you’re missing out on like 40% of the movie’s power.

Kerry Condon and Damson Idris in racing attire converse in a high-tech control room, surrounded by screens displaying data. The mood is focused.
Kerry Condon and Damson Idris in "F1: The Movie" (Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Philippines)

Also, let’s talk about Hans Zimmer for a second, because the man refuses to phone it in — the score here is this wild, slightly chaotic mix of the usual Zimmer BWAAAA horns you expect from a big blockbuster and these grungy, aggressive guitar riffs that feel like someone threw a rock concert inside a race garage, and somehow it completely works. It doesn’t just accompany the visuals — it pushes them forward, adds momentum, and makes your heart race even in scenes where no one’s speaking. It’s classic Zimmer with a twist, and I need a Spotify link yesterday.

Now, I’ll admit — the film doesn’t bother to explain a lot of the F1-specific terminology, and while I personally think that’s the right call (because nothing kills pacing faster than an exposition dump about tire compounds), I also get that it might leave casual viewers a little confused. Still, what F1 does well is trust that you’ll catch the emotion even if you miss the technicals — you don’t need to know what a “safety car” is to understand when everyone on screen starts panicking that something very bad is happening. You just feel it.

Brad Pitt as Sonny Hayes sits confidently, while others in white and black uniforms clap in the background. Bright room with horizontal blinds.
Brad Pitt in "F1: The Movie" (image courtesy of Warner Bros. Philippines)

The ending is exactly what you think it will be, and I mean that as a compliment. It’s predictable, sure, but in a deeply satisfying way — like watching someone finally get the win they’ve spent their whole life chasing, and realizing it matters more to you than it should, because somewhere along the way, this gritty, stubborn group of racers wormed their way into your heart. There’s no post-credit scene, no cinematic universe tease, no cheap sequel bait. Just a damn good ending to a damn good ride.

You don’t need to know the difference between a pit stop and a podium to enjoy F1. With Kosinski’s eye for scale, Miranda’s gorgeous cinematography, and a charmingly rugged Brad Pitt leading the charge, this isn’t just a racing movie — it’s a modern Western disguised in carbon fiber and velocity. It’s about old legends with something to prove, young guns trying to hold their ground, and the wide-open chaos of a racetrack that feels more like a frontier. Whether you're an F1 lifer or a total newbie, this is why we go to the movies. Just make sure you watch it in IMAX — it deserves nothing less.


"F1: The Movie" Cinegeek Rating: A


F1: The Movie is now showing in Philippine Cinemas.


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