A Formula One driver comes out of retirement to mentor and team up with a younger driver. (from IMDb)

Following the 2022 smash hit Top Gun: Maverick, director Joseph Kosinski has been hard at work on his next large-scale vehicle-driven thriller, F1. Largely filmed over the 2023 and 2024 Formula One racing seasons, F1: The Movie is a huge movie. I had the pleasure of seeing it on IMAX and, much like Maverick, it's a movie that screams to be seen in the largest format possible. From sitting flush with the race cars searing across the track, to feeling the tension of the drivers' hands gripping the wheels and feeling the danger as their cars blazing across the screen -- IMAX is an absolute must. But like most action-driven or effects-heavy pictures, does F1 offer more than just thrills (and a slightly cheesy "The Movie" title)?

Kosinski might not be the strongest director out there - his movies seem to always be pretty polarizing - but most can agree Maverick is a cut above. While F1 does NOT feel like a remake of Maverick, you can feel the same kind of attention to detail and care in it. Furthermore, you can tell that Kosinski & company are chasing the thrills that Maverick produced. But do they deliver? I suppose that depends on if you can get excited about fast race cars in the same way we could get excited about feeling like we were really in the cockpit of a fighter plane. Kosinski does a great job putting us on the race track, and it seldom - if ever - feels counterfeit or synthetic.

Brad Pitt offers your starpower here. He plays the aging, past-his-prime, missed-his-chance race car driver Sonny Hayes who gets recruited by an old friend named Ruben, played by Javier Bardem, who wants him for his Formula One team. But Sonny's would-be teammate is a young and cocky up-and-comer named Joshua Pearce, played by Damson Idris, and you can bet the two will butt heads. Sonny represents the old school, straight forward way of racing, while Pearce is more of the modern millennial who's easily distracted by the press and what they're saying about him on social media. That juxtaposition of the old ways and the modern ways of race car driving brings a lot of the conflict and tension to F1 ("The Movie" ;) ). Both Hayes and Pearce aren't super likeable at first, either. You may basically be rooting for Hayes solely because it's Pitt and he's familiar, although the actor's charm does go a long way. But as the story progresses, both characters get their chances to shine, and we find ourselves warming up to both of them (as they inevitably warm up to each other as well). Hayes stays kind of salty and grizzled, but you can't help but still like him. He's picked up scars of various kinds through his life, which makes it easier to relate to, and empathize with, him.

I have to say, though... there's one character choice they make for Sonny by the film's end that I wasn't crazy about. I get that it's kind of in keeping with his character, but it seems to push against his arc a bit. You think that, maybe, he's grown in some ways that the finale suggests maybe he hasn't, and I find that unfortunate. It's not enough to ruin the film - definitely not. But there's a feel-good, heartwarming vibe that the story gives off, and I'd say Sonny's choices in the movie's final minutes might contradict that a bit. A second viewing of the film makes his choices feel less surprising (in nature - not just because I knew what to expect), but it's still bittersweet.

F1: The Movie is also a long film. At over 2-and-a-half hours in running time, most of the movie moves as swiftly as the cars on the track. But the aforementioned gripe with the plot could have been avoided with a shaving off of a few minutes at the end. It's a conclusion that starts to feel like the movie might be overstaying its welcome, and when you realize the direction those final minutes are taking, you kind of wish it did end a little sooner (although this is remedied a bit with a joyful end credits sequence). Otherwise, Kosinski knows how to spend his long running times to his advantage, and F1 ("The Movie" *sigh*) uses it to flesh out its characters well, while still delivering heart-pounding racing action. (That climactic race is just pure cinematic gold.)

Now, the content for F1: The Movie may surprise some viewers. It's mostly PG-13 for profanity, and a short scene of sensuality (think of Maverick in that regard). But the film features 2 very clear uses of the "F" word and a third inaudible one. And, honestly, given the noise of the race track, it's hard to tell if there aren't some more mumbled during the racing scenes. On top of that, there are about 25 uses of the "S" word, and quite a few uses of "g*dd*mn," "*ssh*le," "h*ll," and other common cuss words. It's wholly unnecessary, and it could have been very easily avoidable or scaled back. The one scene of sensuality has a woman throw Sonny up against the wall in a passionate kiss (it's a shot that's in the trailer), and it very quickly cuts to them asleep in bed afterwards. He ends standing on the hotel room balcony and then we see her walking up to him in just a long sweater. There is some race car violence, including flashbacks to a horrible accident Sonny was in, but most of it isn't shown in a graphic way. We do, however, see a nasty scar down Sonny's back today from his recovery in the past, as well as images of his body lying twisted on the race track. In the present day storyline, we see several race car accidents, including one that nearly consumes someone's life due to a pretty intense fire. We see some subtle references to injuries on his hands afterwards, but that's it. Some of the scenes can be intense and emotional, so if you're sensitive to that, you'll want to keep that in mind going in.

Spicy content aside, F1: The Movie is an excellent summer blockbuster. Even if you're not into racing and cars, F1 has plenty to keep the viewer engaged. The acting performances are solid, the racing visuals are thrilling, and even Hans Zimmer's score is a shot of adrenaline (and he delivers emotionally when it calls for it - as we've come to expect from him). It's truly unfortunate how much profanity is in this one, because it's otherwise a must-see summer movie -- especially on IMAX. (And I may have even enjoyed it more on my second viewing. Now pardon me while I try my hand at tossing playing cards into a bowl across the room...)