When we were first setting up the Blind Spot films for 2025 putting Rush on the same month as the release of F1: the Movie made a lot of sense. They are both Formula 1 movies and one could assume they are quite similar. Now after seeing both they are actually quite different with merely the shared background of professional racing.
You can read more of my thoughts on F1 here but I really enjoyed it as a piece of underdog sports entertainment (a favorite genre of mine.) I l0ve how visceral and exciting the racing sequences are and found Brad Pitt to be charming and easy to root for.
In contrast, Rush has a different appeal. It can’t be an underdog sports movie because it’s a true story and that narrative just isn’t there. It’s more a rivalry between racers James Hunt and Niki Lauda in the 70s. The problem is Hunt won a race in the rain under controversy and then gave up racing so there isn’t the dramatic victory (or even epic fail) like we see in underdog sports racing. Instead we see these two men as they battle it out largely in the world of public relations and are left to wonder are they friends at all?
Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl play the two racers and they are believable in the roles. Brühl has a more compelling arc as he marries and tries to start a family. His relationship helps him have a more grounded understanding of life compared to Hunt but there is still something off-putting about his character. It really is a character piece more than it’s a racing movie.
The racing scenes by Ron Howard are fun enough but largely shown from the perspective of people watching TV of the races instead of in the drivers seat like in F1. It is interesting that both films have the same composer Hans Zimmer which is probably their greatest similarity.
I enjoyed the experience of watching F1 more than Rush but like I said they really are quite different films. The journey is still compelling in Rush and worth your time but more for the characters than the entertaining sports movie of it all. Make sure you check out the podcast for more of my thoughts (Manda disagreed with me on both of these films so don’t miss the fun discussion!)
