Skip to main content

Rush

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Brühl, and Olivia Wilde
Directed by: Ron Howard
Screenplay by: Peter Morgan
Based on true events

    Behold, a look into why Formula One racing is so dangerous.
    It's the 1970s, and Formula One auto racing is extraordinarily popular all around the world.  Our two main characters, James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl) have a tremendous rivalry that has captivated the world.  At the time the film takes place (1976), Lauda is the reigning world champion and looking to take the crown again.  But Hunt stands in his way, even with all the technical difficulties his team is having with the car.  Part way through the season, Lauda experiences a terrible crash in which he suffers severe burns all over his body, making it difficult to drive.  Who will win the world championship?  Formula One fans, you probably know the whole story.  
    Similarly to Formula One racing, this is a relatively fast paced film.  It's fast enough to keep you interested the entire time without losing your attention, but slow enough that there are no plot holes.  This is one of the few films I've seen all year in which I spent the whole time thinking about what was on the screen in front of me.  My mind didn't wander at all.  Few films have captivated me that way all year, and it's nice to see a film that makes for a really great viewing experience.  
    There are some instances in which you might feel like you're part of the film.  For example, right before the race in which Niki Lauda has his near fatal accident, the racers take a vote on whether or not to cancel the race because the rain is creating extremely dangerous conditions on an already incredibly dangerous track, the Nurburgring.  After watching the whole film up until this point, you might feel like you're part of the meeting itself.  
    Since you can't actually be part of the film, you might want to quietly cheer for one of the main characters.  There is no good character and no evil character, which means that it doesn't matter who you like more or less.  Rarely is there a film in which it seems like it's okay to root for either of the characters instead of just one, a big plus for me.
    I enjoy watching Formula One racing when I can watch it.  It's very rare that I get such an opportunity, but when I do, I take full advantage of it.  Since I can't watch it (and I would assume that some readers of this post are in similar situations), I don't know a whole lot about Formula One racing.  Rush does a great job of showing the technical aspects of Formula One.  It shows a lot of the science of getting the car absolutely perfect before the race, and its problems when they arise.  
    Chris Hemsworth does a great job of playing Thor, but he is much better as James Hunt.  He delivers a really great performance.  Daniel Brühl delivers an even stronger performance as Niki Lauda.  Rush is well acted, and well directed as well, but it's too early to determine whether it will make a run at the Oscars or not.  
     When you walk out of the theater, you may not have seen the finest film of the year, but you will have seen and felt a part of a great experience.  This is one of my favorite films of the year and certainly one of the best films I've seen all year.  It's about time that films like this start showing up.  This hasn't been the best of years to go to the movies, but Rush is most definitely a film worth seeing.  
     I give Rush an A.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Unknown

Starring: Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, and January Jones Directed by:   Jaume Collet-Serra Screenplay by: Oliver Butcher and Stephen Cornwell     "They had me convinced I was crazy.  But when they came to take me I knew."  Identity theft is a major problem in today's world, but it can't get much worse than the situation present in Unknown .       While on a trip to a biotechnology conference in Berlin, Germany, Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) is involved in a car crash putting him in a coma for four days.  He awakens to find out that not only has his identity been taken, but he has been replaced by someone who also claims to be him.  Even his wife Elizabeth (January Jones) claims to not recognize him.  He begins to believe that his entire life has been thrown away, or never existed at all.  As he finds people who can help him remember what happened to him before the crash, he becomes part of a conspiracy involving...

The Hunger Games

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth Directed by: Gary Ross Screenplay by: Gary Ross and Suzanne Collins Based on the novel by Suzanne Collins      If reality television hasn't gone too far yet, then this show should definitely make it go too far.      In a futuristic nation called Panem, one boy and one girl are selected from each of the nation's twelve districts to represent them in an annual television event called the Hunger Games.  Of the 24 contestants, only one will survive in this televised fight to the death.      I like the concept of the story.  While this futuristic society seems somewhat simple, it does not seem all that well developed.  It is unknown how this society came into being, even though it is known how the Hunger Games began.      If this film were released last year, I would have hoped it would be nominated for best make-up.  Many of the characters ...

Django Unchained

Starring: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, and Samuel L. Jackson Directed by: Quentin Tarantino Screenplay by: Quentin Tarantino      I think it's safe to say that this film is the most badass film of 2012.  My only explanation; Quentin Tarantino!!!!      When someone asks what a Quentin Tarantino film is about, I first respond with "that's a good question".  But there is actually a real story behind all of his films, including Django Unchained.        Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) is a bounty hunter in the pre-Civil War South.  He's looking for a group of bandits known as the Brittle brothers.  He comes across a slave in a slave transport known as Django (the D is silent (Jamie Foxx)), who knows where to find the Brittle brothers.  But Django has a wife he wants to find (Kerry Washington).  She's a slave at a plantation owned by Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio). ...