Rush (2013)

  'Rush' is a 2013 Racing movie directed by Ron Howard.

  James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth), an obnoxious, handsome racer meets Niki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl), an Italian, not so handsome racer at a Formula 3 race in 1970. They become rivals, and the film chronicles, their hatred and competitive nature for each other, over 6 years, concluding in the 1976 Formula 1 season.

  Ron Howard is a very hit-and-miss director, with great films ('A Beautiful Mind', 'Cinderella Man') and atrocities which never should have existed ('The Dilemma', 'Gung Ho'). Going into one of his films you know you are going to come out happy or bored, there's no middle ground. Having heard the many great reviews of 'Rush', I had to see what the fuss was about.

  Based on an incredible true story, it's much more a film about performances than anything else. Chris Hemsworth portrays James Hunt convincingly, and obnoxiously. He was born for the role, and I imagine that he acts similar in his personal life. As Niki Lauda is a tough role to act, Daniel Bruhl does a decent job for an actor I have never heard of before. The film focused so much on them, there was barely any noticeable supporting characters, so Hemsworth and Bruhl carry the film purely on their performances.

 Similar to Senna, its a racing film that is accessible to everyone. I knew nothing about racing going into the films, and I still don't know that much, except for it's incredibly dangerous.

  There are barely any negatives, the movie is really enjoyable. But if I was to be picky, I'd say the film does nothing to expand the medium or the subject, thus feels regular, and the story confuses the viewer by constantly changing points of view, and roots for both Niki and James. I didn't know who I was rooting for, and I don't know how to feel about the end result to the final race. Should I be celebrating or feeling bad? The end message is 'to win, you have to be stupidly dangerous' which, to be honest, isn't a great one.

  This film has one aim (except from making money), which is to portray the Hunt-Lauda dispute of the 1970s. It does a superb job of that, and was informative and entertaining to watch. Just don't believe the hype.

TO CONCLUDE
Enjoyable, and interesting movie, with great performances. Not quite 'Senna-the feature film'.

SCORE
76