The Movie Thread

[Tippy]

Wait a minute here, you're criticizing Hitchcock here while enjoying and even praising the F1 film which truly means nothing to cinema?

At least I hope the flick wasn't as boring as the sport is these days.

I said myself it was formulaic but entertaining. If you want to compare Hitchcock to F1 (not something I woke up thinking I would do) I would say there was more of a positive takeaway in that movie in terms of human nature, the importance of sacrifice, teamwork, following your passions than any Hitchcock movie.

If we're talking about the craft of suspenseful plots then yeah Hitchock is a master. But ultimately these are all superficial experiences. Exception being slightly Vertigo which is about obsession with visuals and how destructive that can be. But even then it's still just a thriller. Even Hitchcock himself would say that he didn't care for much except to manipulate the audience into feeling excitement.

 

[bubs]

Saw F1 the other night. Maybe the 4th or 5th best racing movie ever made but probably lower. Ford v Ferrari, Rush, Senna, Ferrari, and probably even Stalone’s Driven (Directors cut version) are better. Heck I’d even put Talladega Nights ahead of F1. F1 was entertaining in the theater but it offered nothing new to the auto racing movie genre. Le Mans (Steve McQueen) is great if your a die-hard racing fan but it’s dated and felt that way watching it a few years ago. I still need to check out 60’s movies Grand Prix and Winning (Paul Newman). Probably some others I’m missing. Days of Thunder (Tom Cruise) is still the worse IMO.

 

[Tippy]

Saw F1 the other night. Maybe the 4th or 5th best racing movie ever made but probably lower. Ford v Ferrari, Rush, Senna, Ferrari, and probably even Stalone’s Driven (Directors cut version) are better. Heck I’d even put Talladega Nights ahead of F1. F1 was entertaining in the theater but it offered nothing new to the auto racing movie genre. Le Mans (Steve McQueen) is great if your a die-hard racing fan but it’s dated and felt that way watching it a few years ago. I still need to check out 60’s movies Grand Prix and Winning (Paul Newman). Probably some others I’m missing. Days of Thunder (Tom Cruise) is still the worse IMO.

I haven't seen Ferrari but most people criticized that for not being enough about racing. You think that was a better racing movie?

I don't know if Ford V Ferrari was better. I could tell that had influenced this was one a lot (and Senna) as they took some aspects from both.

It was for sure a more intense film experience but they went for something broader which was both a plus and a minus in terms of the impact.

I can say I'll never watch either one again but as a film experience F1 slightly edges it. As a character study, because FVF was mostly ONE guy and was more focused it's probably slightly better as a script.

 

[bubs]

I haven't seen Ferrari but most people criticized that for not being enough about racing. You think that was a better racing movie?

I don't know if Ford V Ferrari was better. I could tell that had influenced this was one a lot (and Senna) as they took some aspects from both.

It was for sure a more intense film experience but they went for something broader which was both a plus and a minus in terms of the impact.

I can say I'll never watch either one again but as a film experience F1 slightly edges it. As a character study, because FVF was mostly ONE guy and was more focused it's probably slightly better as a script.

You are correct about the movie Ferrari, it was more of an autobiographical drama and not so much racing. It was a little dull overall (most autobiographies are) but the acting was very well done. F1 just had too much formulated and predictable Hollywood blockbuster storyline, scenes and acting. A friend of mine who is a huge auto racing fan loved F1 (which surprised me). So I guess to each their own. I did enjoy F1 for entertainment value but just not in my top 3-4 racing movies Overall.

 

[Maddox]

I went to see F1 last night with my DAD. I have no interest in motor sport and overall I had a great time.

The story hits every beat you've seen before in a sports movie sometime somewhere. You have the arrogant rookie guy and then the grizelled older racer (Brad) tortured by his past. They have to overcome their arrogance and learn to work as a team (reminding me a bit of Ford vs Ferari). The whole idea of this 'zen' aspect of racting also reminded me of Senna. There were enough twists and turns in this 'team work' angle to just about keep me hooked even if the plot did feel a bit AI generated in it's formulaic aspects.

The real great thing about this movie were the race scenes themselves. They were high octane intense thrills. For me, with no idea of the rules, I felt I was learning a lot too about how these races work as I watched. And because it was all condensed into 'film' narrative I could understand the stakes of how the race events were playing out. When I try to watch F1 on TV, I never can.

The music (thumping beats) mixed with the editing and the visuals (fireworks, shots of different locations all over the world) was certainly a feast for the senses.

And Brad Pitt's character? He was an archetypal strong male lead in an old school cowboy John Wayne 'strong silent' type kind of guy who learned to adapt without diminishing his values or independence. We don't see that often.

From a Christian angle I felt there were some references to having faith agaisnt great odds as well as a yearning for transcendence in your life which seemed oriented towards the idea there is a spiritual realm. Sure it didn't discuss the Christian aspect but for me that's the next step.

It clearly didn't look like Brad was ever going to settle down and have kids with the career woman who was linked with. But overall, was a very enjoyable film.

So they have a 60-yeard old F1 driver, a black driver as his rival, and a female in the pit crew. Totally believable.

 

[RedLagoon]

Racing (and men) were different back then: (highly recommended even just for the music, I mean engine sounds)

 

[Batman]

I personally loved F1. I'm not into the racing scene (or any pro competitions in general whether its sports, olympics, etc) but thought this was one of the best films i've seen in years. Even better than Ford vs Ferrari imo. I liked it enough that I want to go rewatch it again in IMAX, since it was actually filmed for it.

Maybe I have a bit of a bias as not only am I a huge Brad Pitt fan, but I also related strongly to his character (as a motorcyclist/adrenaline junkie), particularly he described the absolutely peak zen experience you have when you're in that extreme flow state during high performance activities - where the world seems to slow down, and you forget all your problems, and you are no longer thinking and making decisions but simply acting on pure intuition and doing so with zero hesitation and perfect execution. That's not a feeling I've experienced many times in my life and I think high-stakes, high performance activities like racing, motorcycling, and probably ohers like surfing or rock climbing is one of the few things in life that can guarantee that feeling.

On a technical level I think the film was objectively solid all around, regardless of any personal sentiments. I found the racing scenes to be incredibly visceral and exciting and the plot was really well done.

At minimum I think we need to applaud a film that's not original, not comic book or Disney slop, not-woke, and is unapologically one thing. I don't see many movies having the balls to do do this nowadays, other than indie horrors.