“Rush” is a beautifully shot, well-written film about racing and rivalry.
James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth, “Thor”) is a self-confident playboy. He is a thrill seeker and admired by many people. Niki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl, “Inglorious Basterds”) is an arrogant man who has the drive to be the best at what he does. In fact, he is very good at it. Unlike Hunt, however, people generally do not like Lauda because of how in-your-face he is about his skill.
What these two have most in common is Formula 1 racing. They are both top drivers who are passionate about it, but their reasons for racing are very different. Hunt likes it for the sport and the thrill; Lauda has the desire to show everyone that he is No. 1 and no one is as good as him. When they start competing against each other, their passion ends up being the same: to beat the other person.
This film was directed by none other than Ron Howard. The thing that I like the about his direction in this movie is his camera work. There are some very crisp, beautiful shots throughout this movie, often of everyday things. It looks artistic at times, and there are moments that feel like a photography showcase.
The two lead actors were both very good in their roles. Chris Hemsworth nails it as the playboy who is in it for the thrills. Daniel Bruhl does a very good job at portraying a character who is so obsessed with being the best. He showcases just how abrasive and how confident the character is. With this description you would think that we are supposed to hate Lauda by the end. However, despite his arrogance, I ended up liking him.
This is not a typical sports movie. In those movies, typically we would have one protagonist or a group of protagonists to root for, and it would be predictable who comes out on top. This movie is more complicated than that. Both competing characters have reasons we want to root for them. Likewise, they both have qualities that make us not want to. This makes the audience more interested in how it will end.
The end is what I like the most about this film because it shows much these characters have changed because of the rivalry that they have. It also shows that even though they are rivals, they have a lot of respect for each other.
The main problem with the movie is that the storyline is not as great as it should be. This is mostly because it is based on real events that happened over a period of six years. It feels like a chunk of the film rushes through events, and this quick time lapse makes it slightly confusing.
This creates another problem: a lot of the movie seems to be telling about the rivalry rather than showing it. Whenever Lauda and Hunt interact, the intensity that should come from a heated rivalry does not seem to be there. This may have been a statement that they do not necessarily hate each other, so I may have to see it again. However, it seems that the audience comes to know of their rivalry because the characters explain that there is one.
I give this movie 4 out of 5 stars. It is a solid film with interesting characters and interesting insight into rival relationships. However, the storyline is a little rushed, and the rivalry is not as developed as it should have been.
Content: Rated R. There are several sex scenes, some featuring male and female nudity. There is a moderate amount of language, including the F-word and one instance of the C-word. There are also some violent images after car crashes and a disturbing medical procedure. If you do not like any of these things, do not see this movie. It is interesting, but there are other good films that do not have this content.
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