‘F1: The Movie’ is the movie of the summer | Review
“F1: The Movie” hits all the marks amidst a stacked summer-movie lineup as director Joseph Kosinski (“Top Gun: Maverick”) strikes again, serving up yet another banger.
Images courtesy of Apple
Three years ago, “Top Gun: Maverick” took the world by storm with not only a well-made film, but a film that felt the way movies should feel. “Top Gun: Maverick” has intangibles. Something about it made people feel good. I remember many people using the term “They don’t make movies like this anymore” when referring to how “Top Gun: Maverick” made them feel. After seeing “F1: The Movie,” I am convinced they’re right: “THEY” don’t make movies like that anymore, but Joseph Kosinski does. As director of both films, Kosinski takes the essence of “Top Gun: Maverick,” bottles it up, and dumps it all into the F1 brand in his new movie.
“Top Gun: Maverick” has some incredible human elements, most notably the camera work of the actors being in the cockpit of the jets. In “F1: The Movie,” the camera shows the actors in the driver’s seat of these iconic race cars. Somehow Kosinski takes a very similar formula (hehe) and seamlessly transfers it to this new world without it feeling repetitive or lazy.
They call F1 cars “rockets on asphalt,” and making these cars feel that powerful on screen isn’t something easy to do. I mean, we see them on our TV quite a few times a year. But what the “F1: The Movie” team was able to accomplish with the camera work and editing is unreal. My heart dropped watching the camera move while the car is racing at 200 mph. There are no punches thrown in this film, but it has some of the best action in any movie this year.
Of course, sports dramas can easily fall victim to clichés and familiar arcs. “F1: The Movie” doesn’t avoid them entirely, but it embraces them in a way that feels earned. The film knows exactly when to lean into the tropes and when to subvert them, keeping the pace high and the stakes higher across its 140-minute runtime.
And just like “Top Gun: Maverick,” “F1: The Movie” never forgets the human element: the heart, the relationships that make the spectacle matter. The performances here aren’t just passengers in the ride — they steer it (hehe).
“F1: The Movie” is as high-octane as the sport needs it to be. I can’t wait to see it again, and I may start watching the real F1 because of it.
SCORE: “F1: The Movie” (2025), 4.5/5
“F1: The Movie” (2025) is rated PG-13 and is in theaters June 27! There is no post-credit scene.
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