F1 Movie

[vijil]

Personally, I enjoyed it.

I'm a fan of F1. I get that the purists will find it unrealistic. But who cares. Much like Maverick, it's a semi-realistic take on the source material that tells a semi-decent yarn in a way that is a load of fun.

Also, the Austrian GP last weekend was bloody great (especially for my boy Liam). Verstappen got Verstoppened.

[Drcemento]

Super Fun night at the movies - lots of reasons to go this summer after what seems like years of maybe one or two I felt like i needed to see on the big screen. Pitt does it again, and the racing sequences were just incredibly filmed. maybe a tad long....

[the_matrix_guy]

Definitely on my must watch list. People also complain about Netflix's F1 Drive to Survive as not being entirely factual, like showing things on screen with old radio voice overs, etc, I'm not sure what else is supposed to be fake in the show? But some drivers have alluded that it is more of a reality show than a documentary -- but whatever -- I still find the show enjoyable.

[SignOfZeta]

This movie looks so bad. A sixty year old F1 driver returning to the sport after 20-30 years off? That’d be a stretch for Indy or NASCAR. It’s laugh out loud silly for F1. And he crashes on purpose repeatedly? How cool. Do they take the cars out on the street for a dual like in Driven? No? It’s not *that* stupid? He didn’t get Freejacked? Oh, thank goodness.

Every review I’ve read is a longer version of what you said. Simultaneously laudatory but defensive of its own praise. It’s as if people feel guilty for enjoying it. I don’t do well with guilt so I’ll let my girlfriend watch it and tell me how it was.

I’m definitely glad that it’s not a movie version of Drive To Survive. I’m glad it’s not sensationalistic trash. They seem to have gone the opposite way though…now it’s a very transparent ad for F1 that rounds off all the nasty edges and inserts Hollywood royalty. I’m still glad though. I’d rather new fans be drawn to the sport by the vibe of this vapid movie than that horrible Netflix show.

I was also glad to see Max get bumped off the track. He’s my least favorite champion of my lifetime. His race craft lacks. His attitude sucks. There are reasons Hamilton is more popular losing than Max is winning.

[vijil]

...

Mate are you ok?

[Paintslinger16]

They seem to have made him about decade younger so like 50 not his true age.

[SignOfZeta]

It doesn’t matter how much younger they make him look. His character seems to have been involved in F1 in the early 90s. It’s implied that he raced alongside Senna, who has been dead for over 30 years at this point. If he was an 18 year old rookie the day Senna died he’d be 50 now. Add to 50 however many years he was supposed to have raced before his first retirement and thats as young as he could be.

[the_matrix_guy]

This movie looks so bad. A sixty year old F1 driver returning to the sport after 20-30 years off? That’d be a stretch for Indy or NASCAR. It’s laugh out loud silly for F1. And he crashes on purpose repeatedly? How cool. Do they take the cars out on the street for a dual like in Driven? No? It’s not *that* stupid? He didn’t get Freejacked? Oh, thank goodness.

Every review I’ve read is a longer version of what you said. Simultaneously laudatory but defensive of its own praise. It’s as if people feel guilty for enjoying it. I don’t do well with guilt so I’ll let my girlfriend watch it and tell me how it was.

I’m definitely glad that it’s not a movie version of Drive To Survive. I’m glad it’s not sensationalistic trash. They seem to have gone the opposite way though…now it’s a very transparent ad for F1 that rounds off all the nasty edges and inserts Hollywood royalty. I’m still glad though. I’d rather new fans be drawn to the sport by the vibe of this vapid movie than that horrible Netflix show.

I was also glad to see Max get bumped off the track. He’s my least favorite champion of my lifetime. His race craft lacks. His attitude sucks. There are reasons Hamilton is more popular losing than Max is winning.

Can you explain what's so bad about Drive To Survive? i always hear this extreme criticism without any actual reasons? I'm honestly baffled. The drama is real, you only have 24 or so seats - of the best of the best drivers in the world? It's a hyper competitive, cutthroat world, so there's bound to be drama on & off the track.

Regarding Verstappen, I agree, his race-craft is overly aggressive and he's a huge douche all around. But he makes a good villain for the haters and ratings.

[vijil]

Nothing was particularly bad about it, but the drivers (rightly) took issue with some of the drama being exaggerated. That was toned down a lot, which explains why the newer seasons are much less interesting, but it's still a good watch unless you're inclined to the ornery.

Agreed re. Verstappen. Villains are important to the narrative. Sports don't get popular because of the rules, they get popular when the rules don't get in the way of the stories they generate. It's best when the rules have enough wiggle room to allow for mixed interpretations, which naturally leads to certain participants playing the grey = villains/heroes. The movie embraced that concept wholeheartedly.

[the_matrix_guy]

I dont know. I hate reality TV but this seems pretty real. You see a lot of unfakeable stuff that is grounded on real events on and off the track. Like for instance, when Vettel announced he was leaving Ferrari, and you see the tension and just pure awkwardness behind the scenes -- tension you could cut through with a knife. (Not to mention the crappy, petty attitude of Ferrari when they're in a downward spiral.)

But as a whole, I think there is less "voicing of opinions" and drama due to the new regulations that went into effect in 2025 with the new fine system and penalty rules. Anything that criticizes the FIA, for instance, is a hefty fine.

[fullofpaint]

There's a lot of editing in DTS that twists the narrative in a non-factual way. The race commentary is often rerecorded for the show, and radio messages have been played out of order or twisted to suit DTS's narrative, even if it's not accurate. I get why some drivers are less than appreciative of it.

That said it's been great for the sport and insane how many people recognize my old Williams hat now.

[SignOfZeta]

Can you explain what's so bad about Drive To Survive? i always hear this extreme criticism without any actual reasons? I'm honestly baffled. The drama is real, you only have 24 or so seats - of the best of the best drivers in the world? It's a hyper competitive, cutthroat world, so there's bound to be drama on & off the track.

Regarding Verstappen, I agree, his race-craft is overly aggressive and he's a huge douche all around. But he makes a good villain for the haters and ratings.

Before I answer this question about Drive to Survive I have to ask these three questions:

How much of Drive to Survive have you watched?

How many races did you watch before they were made into episodes of Drive to Survive?

How much reality TV do you regularly expose yourself to?

[vijil]

What a sanctimonious load of crap.

[SignOfZeta]

Can you elaborate on that? I have a feeling you are assuming something that’s not true.

If someone never watches races, only Drive to Survive episodes made out of race, everything seems fine. What isn’t obvious though is that there is an overbearing and often kinda misleading/fake angle to what they do to make that TV show. An actual sport does not “need a villain”. A reality TV show does. It creates the sensationalist friction however it wants. It made stars out of Haas, the biggest losers on the grid, because the principal swears a lot and they don’t beep in on Netflix. During an actual race you typically don’t focus on foul mouthed losers. Out of the crass confusion surrounding these emerges…the 24 year old American F1 fan with die hard opinions on Senna and DRS with an unearned air of swagger and empty expertise acquired from watching a reality sport based on an actual sport that has been going for a century.

Also the sound design. The music, the bass thumps used to punctuate words or make crashes sound more Hollywood.

It’s fake as all hell and emphasizes the more base elements of the hobby. I never knew that all it took to make F1 popular was a News of the World sort of perspective in things but it worked very well.

[the_matrix_guy]

vijil have you seen Hitting The Apex (2015)? It’s a MotoGP documentary narrated by Brad Pitt. It’s a good one

[fullofpaint]

Saw it twice over the weekend, once with a Q&A with the director, DP and 1st AC. If you can, like Top Gun Maverick this is a film you MUST see in IMAX or the biggest screen possible. The industry screening I went to had the volume turned to 11, you could feel every kick of John Bonham's drum in the opening scene in your chest haha.

Overall I loved it, it's got some flaws but whatever no big summer movie lets reality get in the way of a good time. I didn't care for the whole romance subplot though, thought it undermined her character.

I really hope we get some good BTS featurettes on the Blu-Ray because the little they got into during the Q&A was fascinating. They basically had Sony design an even smaller remote head than the one they used for Top Gun Maverick (same camera team + director) and had to coordinate between Mercedes/Carlin, Sony, Panavision, and some other industry peeps to custom make the camera, mounting, and all the wireless gear fit in the car and function through the entire track when running the cars.

[the_matrix_guy]

When you have a kick ass HT system, it makes watching mediocre Hollywood movies fun… lol

As long as they have a good soundtrack 😎👍

[Toestr]

Racing movies peaked at Viva Las Vegas.

[redsquirrel]

I thought it was great! Engaging story, shot well, fun action, Brad Pitt, what’s not to
like?