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...)

The movie on the 4K UHD disc itself? Gorgeous. The 4K transfer is fantastic for this film - as one might expect. So, if you're an Apple fan, there's no worries here. But if you aren't, you'll want to be warned that you can only redeem the digital copy through Apple, and the movie is not compatible with MoviesAnywhere (even though it's also distributed through Warner Bros).

Inside the F1: The Movie Table Read (5:10) - The title of this one is a little deceiving; The table read took place at the iconic F1 venue, Silverstone, but we don't really see any of the actual table read. Through side interviews, the cast talks about the table read experience - and how intimidating it was - but beyond the cast introducing themselves at the table, we don't see any of the line reading itself.

The Anatomy of a Crash, (6:28) - This is about how they pulled off Joshua's big car crash. To do this, they launched the car through the air, and while the result didn't quite go as planned, they decided to use what happened instead. Then, for the shots where we see Joshua still in the car as it's spinning, they put actor Damson Idris in a section of the car mounted to a gimbal suspended in the air and spun it several times. Then, they actually set actor Damson's arms on fire! (1 possible background "F" word, 2 "Oh my G-d")

Getting Up to Speed (5:01) is about getting the actors comfortable with driving themselves. They also talk about Mercedes building the cars used in the film, and conditioning the actors physically - like getting their necks to be strong enough to withstand the physicality of driving.

APXGP Innovations (5:25) - They show how they mounted the cameras on the cars in an effort to give viewers the closest, most raw driving experience possible. They then show us how they shot Sonny's first crash.

Making it to Silverstone (5:07) - Silverstone is the iconic event where the first F1 race ever took place. The cast and crew gush about how amazing the experience was and how the other drivers there were real, actualy drivers. (1 use of "c*cking up" by Brad)

Lewis Hamilton: Producer (5:18) - 7x world champion Lewis Hamilton was one of the film's producers and was heavily consulted on everything F1 related. Director Joseph Kosinski wanted to make the most authentic racing movie ever made. Hamilton also helped make the cast more diverse by having more women involved as characters.

APXGP Sets and Locations Around the World (9:25) - Instead of doing everything in one place or hitting the studio, they filmed in different real locations. And Formula One gave them a lot of access across the board at various events and locations. They even slotted the film's fictious team between Ferrari and Mercedes at Silverstone! The team filmed in real places for the APX sets, too - like Mercedes for the production floor, and Williams for the wind tunnel test lab. The scene where Damson is shown using a driving simulator is the first time this kind of simulator was ever revealed to the public.

APXGP and F1: How it was Filmed (5:44) - It turns out that APX was the 11th team added to the events in the season! F1 let the film crew take part in various races. Lewis Hamilton even played himself during the film's climactic "Red flag" sequence.

Sound of Speed (5:00) - Composer Hans Zimmer talks about the score and sound of the film - and trying to write a score that would complement the experience.