Miscast Brad Pitt Goes Vroom Vroom in the Thrilling 'F1'

Apple has had a dismal run with its original films. Aside from CODA (a festival acquisition) and Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon (a strong film that still underperformed), the studio’s slate has been an expensive parade of flops. Whether at the box office (Argylle, Fly Me to the Moon) or on streaming, Apple’s big-budget projects with big-name talent just haven’t landed. There’s Will Smith’s Emancipation, Chris Evans’ Ghosted, Natalie Portman and John Krasinski’s Fountain of Youth, Justin Timberlake’s Palmer, Julianne Moore’s Echo Valley, Clooney and Pitt’s Wolfs, Matt Damon’s Instigators, and Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy’s The Gorge, among others. The studio keeps trying, but it hasn’t found the formula yet.

Will F1 break the losing streak? It’s doubtful the film will make back its $200 million budget in theaters, but I’ll give it this: it finally feels like Apple has figured out how to make a movie for the same middle-aged Dad demo that’s embraced its shows like Ted Lasso, Shrinking, and Your Friends and Neighbors. The script by Ehren Kruger (Reindeer Games, Ghost in the Shell) is terrible, several performances are underwhelming, and Brad Pitt feels badly miscast.

And yet … it’s exhilarating. Director Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick, Oblivion) knows the real stars are the cars, and he wisely puts them front and center. It is cheesy. It is predictable. But it’s also a damn good time. The two-and-a-half-hour runtime zips by, at least while the wheels are on the track.

One smart move? The film skips the slow build and starts mid-season. Javier Bardem plays Ruben Cervantes, owner of the floundering APXGP team. He convinces his old friend and rival Sonny Hayes (Pitt) to return to Formula 1 racing thirty years after a devastating crash ended his career. Cervantes’ team is $350 million in debt, has never placed higher than tenth, and faces total collapse unless they win a single race before the season ends.

That gives them nine races. Over those races, we watch the team — Hayes and his cocky young teammate, Joshua Pierce (Damson Idris) — stumble, struggle, adapt, and eventually click. The arc is familiar: grizzled vet vs. hotshot rookie. Hayes is stubborn and old-school; Pierce is arrogant and dismissive. They’re supposed to be teammates, but they start out as rivals, jockeying for dominance. Predictably, they figure it out and begin working together by the final race.

Kerry Condon plays Kate McKenna, the team’s technical director and the first woman in that role in F1. Unfortunately, she’s saddled with an unnecessary romance subplot with Pitt’s Hayes. The chemistry is there, but it does such a disservice to Condon’s character. And while Hayes is written as an asshole, Pitt’s charm keeps him from fully disappearing into the role. He may be an asshole in real life, but onscreen, he’s too Brad Pitt. He’s also simply too old for the part, even playing a washed-up old-timer. Condon and her lovely Irish lilt are wasted, as are strong supporting actors like Shea Whigham, Tobias Menzies, and Kim Bodnia, who are mostly relegated to stock-character territory.

Only Bardem and Idris manage to transcend the weak material, which is impressive considering just how painfully thin the writing is. But this movie isn’t really about characters or plot. It’s about racing—and that’s where it hums. Kosinski and cinematographer Claudio Miranda (Top Gun: Maverick) deliver white-knuckle racing sequences that put the audience inside the car. The sharp turns, the high-speed maneuvers, the pure velocity — it’s more thrilling than I would have anticipated.

I knew nothing about Formula 1. I skipped Drive to Survive when it was trendy. I assumed it was just cars driving around in circles. But the movie makes a compelling case for the sport’s strategy, nuance, and, surprisingly, tire talk. There’s more going on than I ever realized. Still, while the film may be a great ad for F1, I didn’t leave wanting to watch a real race. But would I watch another movie about F1? Absolutely. Nine races in two hours? That’s my speed.

Just … maybe get someone other than Brad Pitt next time. He’s still best when he’s robbing casinos or trading Tarantino banter, not behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car.