Review: Rush

Rush
Cert: 15 / 123 mins / Dir. Ron Howard



The day doesn't come around too often when I find myself with nothing bad to say about a film. Not a thing. From the first frame to the last, this film is absolutely electric, and even an unbeliever like me was hooked. Ron Howard has excelled himself, and tells the story of rivalry on and off the track like few others could. If the guy can get me to enjoy a movie about sport, he must be doing everything right.

The film's greatest strength is that it's about the drivers rather than the cars, and Howard gives us two rivals, makes them both eminently likeable*¹, makes them both beautifully flawed, and makes you want them both to win*². An equal amount of time is spent in the company of Lauda and Hunt, and an equal window given into their personas. We see what victory means to both of them, and exactly how far they're both prepared to push in order to achieve it.

The casting of Chris Hemsworth as Hunt is solid, but it's Daniel Brühl who shines as his arch-rival. Between his superb portrayal and bookending narration from the actual Niki Lauda, we get an insight into his mindset that we sadly can't for Hunt. The supporting cast all enjoy their parts without hamming it up too much, but the other star of the show has to be cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle. The race photography is is nothing short of outstanding throughout the film, and Mantle makes a rainy day in Japan look like nothing you've ever seen.

Rush is an absolute triumph. You need to see this film, and you need to see it on a big screen.

It opens in the UK on the 13th of September. Go.

It is.



I did.



It does.



Cinema. As soon as possible.



I will.



I will.



There isn't. Which is understandable.

Why can't the racing on the telly be that interesting?*³

*¹ Hey, I liked Lauda. I don't care how logic-obsessed he was, I see that as a strength… *arranges pens into order*
*² Like I said, I know nothing about F1, so the final result came from the unknown for me. I don't know if you can call spoilers on history, but if you don't already know how the story ends, don't look it up before watching this.
*³ Don't tell me 'it is'. Seriously, don't.

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