Rush

New Release Review
Director: Ron Howard
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Bruhl, Olivia Wilde

Rush tells the story of two Formula 1 drivers and their rivalry during the 1970s: Nikki Lauda (Bruhl) of Austria and James Hunt (Hemsworth) of England. Starting in Formula 3, we follow their respective careers as they both work towards being selected for a professional Formula 1 team and achieving greatness by winning the driver's championship.

If you're not a fan of racing, Formula 1, or cars in general, you're still going to love this movie, I promise. Director Ron Howard has created a movie around racing that tells the story of Lauda and Hunt, two very different people with very different approaches to the sport of racing. For Hunt, life is a party and every time he gets in the car he's prepared to risk everything - even his life - to win. Lauda, on the other hand, races because it's something he's good at and therefore is not prepared to race where the risk of injury is over 20 percent. The tension stems from their competitive natures; each strive to beat the other and are pushed outside their comfort zones with surprising results.

The story is centered on, and narrated by, Lauda, so we get a little more insight into his actions and motivations. Yet we do see much of Hunt's side of the story, in fact we're introduced to him first, and we only meet Lauda through the eyes of James Hunt. It's interesting how your perception of Lauda is coloured by Hunt's initial impressions, and how we come to understand and appreciate both men as the movie progresses. Arlaine made an interesting observation after Rush was over and we were watching the credits: You don't have one character you're rooting for more than another. In other words, there is no hero/villain relationship established and that's what makes Rush so refreshing: it's a real story about real people.

The last few scenes of the movie incorporate some great footage of the actual Lauda and Hunt and wow, did they ever get the casting right. These two actors look a lot like the people they're playing which was a relief. I was concerned that Hemsworth only got the role because of his Avengers/Thor star power but in addition to his looks and star power, he brings depth to the character who lives a lot of life on the surface. Daniel Bruhl also was exceptional in the role of Nikki Lauda, adding some softness to the serious personality for which Lauda is known. (Bonus points for having the real Lauda give a stamp of approval on the movie and the portrayal of characters)

Verdict? See it. On the biggest screen you possibly can. The racing scenes have some amazing camera angles that you just don't see on TV broadcasts of races. We saw it in "Ultra AVX" and it was totally worth it.

IMDB
Rotten Tomatoes