The Case for Speed Racers

Rush is the latest movie from Ron Howard, all about racing superstar Niki Lauda and (for me) the relatively unknown James Hunt and their ambition and success in being Formula One racing drivers.

And it is good.

Not as good as Senna, which is an incredible documentary about the life and death of racing legend Ayrton Senna, but it holds its own as a “based on a true story” film. 

It helps that the leads are both amazing: Hunt is played by Chris “Thor” Hemsworth as a good looking blond god (so good casting there) and Lauder by an intense and focussed Daniel Bruhl, who is completely riveting and steals the scene whenever he is on screen.  Their lives are constantly contrasted: the effervescent Hunt with his string of lovers and party lifestyle; the single-minded Lauda who forsakes almost everything – vice, friendship, love – in the pursuit of his racing dream.  Their rivalry, the film shows, pushed each other to greatness, and beyond.

It’s a shame then when the film gets all preachy.  There are a few scenes where things feel completely unnatural, the “wrapping up” scene in a hanger after the end of the “main” race (I am giving nothing away here I don’t think) clunky and forced on so many levels, it feels completely contrived.  The film is at its best on the track and when the two are antagonistic towards each other – it is at its worst when it tries to force situations in which the two show a friendship that the film fails to convincingly portray.  Oddly enough, photos of the real Hunt and Lauda at the end of the film do seem to show that the two did get on quite well, their easy manner with each other a stark contrast to the stiffness the two characters have in the film. 

Away from each other, Hunt is shown as a hedonist, but despite this (and the “heavy lifting” in the bare naked butt scenes stakes), his story is a little less interesting than Lauda’s, though both actors do well with what they are given.  It’s a shame Lauda’s wife’s role (played by the stunningly graceful Alexandra Maria Lada) is basically mute after they first get together, as her reaction to some of what happens later in the film would have been interesting.  But the film seems to want to focus only on the two main guys at the expense of making three dimensional characters out of anyone else, and so it succeeds there on all fronts. 

This film also marked my return to the Embassy Cinema after a long absence, and as usual, it was magnificent.  The screening was not full, but the film has been out a while and there was a respectable sized audience nonetheless.  During the racing scenes, the tension in the cinemagoers was palpable (though it might just have been me), and while I felt it could have been edited better (removing some of those preachy scenes might have been nice), it was generally a great watch.  

Verdict: Rush told a story of competition and drive (pardon the pun) incredibly well, though for me it failed to inspire on an emotional level.  The 70s style shooting was fine, and some of the cars and fashion were a hoot (Hemsworth has the chest to pull off all those unbuttoned shirt fronts to be sure), and overall it was pretty good.  75 mph out of 100.