Fresh from the critical and commercial success of “Top: Gun Maverick,” Joseph Kosinski commenced development of his next project. This time, a sports drama about a former Formula One racer named, Sonny Hayes who comes out of retirement to save his a former teammate’s team from dissolving. Sonny also deals with a young reckless racer. The Premise I’m referring to is none other than “F1.”
F1 earned praise from critics and movie goers alike. In addition to good reviews it was a commercial success. Anyway, Joseph Kosinski is working on an untitled Jerry Bruckheimer project. No title has been confirmed. Brad Pitt will reprise his role as Cliff Booth in a solo spin-off titled, “The Adventures of Cliff Booth.” It’ll be released sometime around 2026. David Fincher will take over Quentin Tarantino’s director’s chair. Quentin has involvement writing the script. Before the aforementioned two projects come out, I wanna share my thoughts on F1.
Today’s review contains no crucial SPOILERS whatsoever.
First & Last Aspects
First: Brad Pitt did a fantastic job for his performance. In addition to carrying the film, he also co-produced the film courtesy of his production company, Plan B Entertainment.
Other Cast Members such as Damson Idris, Kerry Condon & Javier Bardem all did a decent job for their respective performances.
Joseph Kosinski did a great job directing. Plus, he co-wrote the story.
Jerry Bruckheimer served as a producer.
Fun Fact: F1 was originally supposed to be a sequel to “Days of Thunder.” Plans were scrapped in favor of an original film. Not every movie needs a sequel. Leave it as it is.
Random Thought: I never got a chance to see F1 in theaters. I went to Fan Expo Dallas 2025. Afterwards, I had to recoup my expenses. As a result, I’m on a tight budget whenever I pick which movies i wanna see. I finally saw F1 on Apple TV Plus.
Ehren Kruger (Scream 3, The Ring, Top Gun: Maverick) wrote the script.
Racing Sequences are spectacular. You can tell there’s no green screen. Those are actual stunts and old school effects. To quote Jim Carrey in “Dumb and Dumber,” “I like it a lot.”
Hans Zimmer (The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception, Interstellar) orchestrated the soundtrack.
Cinematography captures the racing scenes. Whenever Sonny or Joshua are speeding, it makes you feel like you’re riding shotgun. How did the camera crew manage to do it? They used Apple’s custom made phones.
De-Aging technology made Brad young in flashbacks. He doesn’t look like Harrison Ford in “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” In other words, he’s not an unrendered PS5 character.
Brad eats and drinks in this film. He’s known for eating and drinking anything on camera. Most notably, his role as Rusty Ryan from “The Ocean’s Trilogy.”
Although a long movie, Pacing felt natural. My eyes were glued to the screen.
Sonny’s chemistry with Joshua serves as the main highlight. The former must deal with the latter’s arrogance in order to cooperate as teammates.
Unlike Amazon’s “War of the Worlds,” F1 didn’t feel like a very expensive Super Bowl commercial. The latter to itself seriously.
If you’re a Formula One fanatic, there are a ton of cameos from real life racers.
Last: Some people claim this film’s a rip-off of Sly Stallone’s “Driven.” Unlike his stinker, F1 told a better story. So, I’ll let this con slide. Think of it as an upgrade. Heck, F1’s better than John Travolta’s “Trading Paint.”
I couldn’t find nothing wrong. I’m giving the cast and crew an Extra Point for making a flawless film as possible.
The Final Verdict: A, FOR APEX!
F1’s another awesome high ranking film of 2025 along with “Bugonia,” “Caught Stealing” & “One Battle After Another.” If you’re interested in watching F1, check it out on Apple TV Plus.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 