User reviews

The film is just over 2 hours long, but when it was over it seemed like I had been in the cinema about 30 minutes.

The film centres on the battle for the 1976 Formula 1 World Championship, and the rivalry between the Austrian "professor" Nikki Lauda and the British playboy James Hunt.

The two are depicted as enemies, but in actual fact they were good friends who trusted and respected each other on, as well as off-track. This bit of artistic licence does not spoil the film and is reasonable in order to make the battle between the two for the F1 crown more intense.

The film is nicely paced. We are introduced to both characters through their own narrative and scenes that leave the watcher in no doubt as to their background and philosophy on life.

The two are first seen in competition in 1970 at a Formula 3 race at Crystal Palace (where they have a coming together) and sets the scene for the rivalry throughout the film. I'm not sure if this is further artistic licence. The two definitely did race each other in F3, but I am not convinced as to whether this actual incident occurred.

After that we are given a whistle stop journey between 1973 (when Hunt came into F1) to 1975. We are shown the dangerous nature of F1 at the time with the Francois Cevert accident at Watkins Glen in gory detail – although this does not seem like gratuitous, but necessary to bring home just how unforgiving the sport was back then – and it truly was (of the top 12 points scorers in 1976, F1 cars were to claim 3, 1 ended up in a wheelchair and 1 had his career ended by a leg crunching crash).

We are then taken to 1976 and that titanic struggle for the World Crown. Only one real issue here – the British Grand Prix result, but I suspect this was simplified in the interests of time.

The casting is superb. Chris Hemsworth, an Aussie, does an excellent job on public schoolboy James Hunt, while Daniel Bruhl both sounds and looks frighteningly like the Austrian. There is little room for a supporting cast amongst the drivers which is a shame – only Clay Regazzoni has a part of any real substance. Peterson, Watson, Depailler, Scheckter, Andretti et al could have featured a little more I think. What did their contemporaries think of the two protagonists? The supporting cast is mainly required for Hunt – Lord Hesketh, "Bubbles" Horsley and Teddy Mayer / Tyler Alexander of McLaren, while the Ferrari team principals are rarely seen.

The love angle is perfectly catered for by Olivia Wilde (Hunt's first wife Suzy) and the gorgeous Alexandra Maria Lara - of Downfall fame – as the future Marlene Lauda. Both give quality performances.

The attention to detail is superb. Although the tracks are not the actual ones (for understandable reasons) the cars, the helmets, the sponsors are all authentic. The film "feels" like it's happening in the 70's.

For anyone interested in great personal stories, F1, the 70's, cars or just like to see a great film, then Rush is for you.

Despite not being an auto racing fan, the stories of the rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda and Lauda's accident are well known and on research was big news in the 70s.

'Rush' did seem intriguing, Ron Howard has done some good work in the past and my sister and her boyfriend absolutely raving about it. However having no knowledge of auto racing and having never found it my cup of tea there was a touch of intrepidation. As well as the worry as to whether there was going to be any bias and whether it was going to stray from the facts. After watching 'Rush', this viewer is so glad that she gave it a chance because it was a gripping and entertaining film from start to finish, and quite easily Howard's best work in some time.

Some occasional rushed pacing and some weak dialogue, that lacked flow, sounded awkward and stuck out like a sore thumb against everything else that was done to such a professional level, were the only drawbacks to overall one of 2013's better films. The time period is very evocatively depicted, there is a real sense of time and place, there is wonderful vibrant colour throughout, the editing is slick, clever and gives the race scenes the thrills they need and the photography is similarly audaciously slick and like the cinematographer was part of the action itself, especially good in the climactic Japanese race sequence. Hans Zimmer's score is not his best work by all means, but it went with the racing theme remarkably well and does capture the mid-70s time period and the atmosphere of the sport to such great effect (again the final race in Japan stood out). The sound effects also help, having a real authenticity.

For a film about auto racing, one does have to talk about how 'Rush' deals with the race sequences. The good news is that they are absolutely thrilling and keeps one to the edge of their seat, while all of them are brilliantly done, showing how glamorous and also dangerous the sport is (not many sports films I've seen have properly and fully captured the spirit of the sport it's portraying in the way Rush did) the highlight is the climactic Japanese race, which was both exhilarating and moving (masterful if having to sum it up in one word). Howard not only depicts the mid- 70s as if the viewer were transported back in time and part of the period (such was the evocativeness of the atmosphere) and adopts a visual style that never looks cheap and as said like the cinematographer was there part of the action, but he shows here that he knows how to tell a story. The storytelling is always compelling, thoughtful, informative and thrilling with a surprising amount of emotional impact, found myself really identifying with Lauda.

The film is faithful to the facts, the rivalry between Hunt and Lauda is genuinely engaging and are shown a lot of respect and dimension here. Neirher Hunt or Lauda are one-dimensional here and, although Lauda is the more sympathetically drawn of the two, one does not takes sides with one or the other. It also is tightly paced and assured, never getting bogged down in too much back story, too much soap- opera, too much sentimentality or technical jargon/minutiae (that would likely have gone over the heads of first-time viewers or non-fans of the sport). All the supporting performances are well-done, though some with not much to do, with Olivia Wilde and Christian McKay faring the strongest.

It is however the two leads that carry 'Rush' cast wise, both of them as close to perfect as one can get. Daniel Brühl gives Niki Lauda a real brooding intensity and genuine poignancy, making it very easy to feel sorry for him, while swaggering Chris Hemsworth has never been better as Hunt.

All in all, a gripping and hugely entertaining film. Has its imperfections but they are far outweighed by the number of things 'Rush' does right. 9/10 Bethany Cox

A super cool movie Beautiful story and wonderful acting main actors

This is an amazing film. I can't recommend it highly enough for F1 fans like me, sports fans, or anyone interested in a story of rivalry i.e. something different to the unoriginal junk movies which get churned out each year.

All the crew involved should pat themselves on the back. They've done a fabulous job making this film critique, explore and honour two memorable F1 drivers.

James Hunt's fun, party lifestyle along with his brash and raw driving talent. This is contrasted against Niki Lauda's methodical thinking, technical brilliance and professional lifestyle. These two characters are total opposites but as their lives are explored it also acknowledges the value of an enemy, i.e. something to beat. I believe this is a commentary on human nature in that the best of us shines when we have something to beat or overcome.

Do yourself a favour and see it now.

What a breath of fresh air... A brilliant film in every respect. I was lucky enough to this movie at a special preview and I cant tell you how great a film this is... At first you think its about racing cars, but its not it really does give you an insight into the human condition...

The rivalry between Hunt and Lauder is just played brilliantly... The race sequences are superb, really taking you back to the 70s... The heyday of this awesome sport. It shows the end of an era where the gentlemen drivers begin to give way to professional sportsmen and the end (in my opinion) of the excitement of the sport. It shows what a pale reflection today's F1 is of this once great sport, and what great characters we have lost...

A real must see movie

Mr. Ron Howard is a great story teller, this movie is about human nature, love and tears.

It is difficult to make a good movie about car racing, especially to make one for the time period from 1970 to 1976. I don't know how they did it to bring those old F1 cars back to life. You will feel like you are really there watching the racing, it's really unbelievable.

It is truly touching to see each character played their perfect role for this movie, Chris Hemsworth did a great performance, he is such a talented and devoted actor. Daniel Brühl also did a great job on portraying the eccentric and unsociable legendary F1 driver Niki Lauda.

A great movie is like having a great meal, a good starter, a good soup/salad, a good main course and a good dessert, well balanced. Rush is that good meal, it's a fun ride!

I have to say I really enjoyed watching this movie. Thank you Mr. Ron Howard for making this masterpiece.

I enjoyed "Rush", as have a ton of other people. As of today, it's #142 on IMDb and it was nominated for Best Picture. While my score of 7.0 is slightly less than the current 8.3, I was glad I saw this film.

I was surprised because I thought the film would be very much like the classic race films "Le Mans" and "Grand Prix"--two 1960s films about Formula 1 racing. However, it was very different. These older films focused on the driving itself--and both had amazing camera-work. Additionally, the films seemed much like watching the races yourself (particularly "Le Mans"). However, both films were a bit light on plot. "Rush", on the other hand, had surprisingly little (and slightly underwhelming) race scenes--mostly because this was NOT the focus of the movie. Instead, it was more of a character study of the two drivers, Niki Lauda and James Hunt. How the men were similar and how they were significantly different is the focus of the film.

The acting was very good and the film engaging. I could say more but, frankly, the film's been out for some time and it already has more than 350 reviews, so I'll just wrap it up now.

PLEASE NOTE: The scenes after the 'big crash' are very hard to watch--particularly those in the hospital. This along with the crudeness of the language and brief nudity make this a film you might not want to show to your kids.

As Asif Kapadia's gripping and extremely moving 2010 documentary Senna proved, cinema audiences have a thirst for the larger-than-life characters that inhabit the Formula One track. The sport itself is frightfully dull (although I'm sure plenty will disagree with that), but the sportsmen willing to lay down their life for a kick and a trophy are infinitely more fascinating, especially in the days of lax safety rules. The sport nowadays is little more than advertising on wheels, but when the likes of James Hunt and Niki Lauda battled it out on the track, epic rivalries were created, and no matter how talented these men were at driving these "coffins on wheels", every race could spell out death. Rush portrays the clash of two opposing personalities. The long-haired, dashing Englishman James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) was all about the adrenaline, embracing the post-race parties and lying with the many women that would throw themselves at him. He was reckless, willing to risk his life and others in order to win, but, as described in the film, there was no better driver in the world in terms of raw talent. His rival, Austrian Niki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl), was focused, clinical, and even helped design the cars he would drive. He was the early-night type, 'rat-faced' and cold. In every sense, he's the perfect villain. But where Rush succeeds the most is challenging our early conceptions of these two characters. There's little fun to be had with Lauda, but played by Bruhl, he evolves into the underdog of the movie, perhaps the only one that actually gives a damn about his own life and the life of his opponents. This, naturally, leads to tragedy and a particularly wince-inducing scene in which Lauda requires having his lungs vacuumed, but it's at this point that we realise just what these two drivers mean to each other. As Lauda watches Hunt claw back some points in the 1976 Formula One season, it becomes clear that these two need each other to survive. Their hatred of one another only serves to fuel the flames, and leads to Lauda's defiant early return to the driver's seat, scarred and bandaged. Fast cars, beautiful women and exotic locations hardly sounds like a recognisable workload for Ron Howard, one of the most play-it-easy directors out there. His past films have been unjustifiably successful, critically and commercially, never stamping a recognisable directorial trait onto his work. Yet here, although the bright sheen of the 70's initially takes some getting used to, he has managed to create a world that is very much alive, using snappy editing, a pumping soundtrack and some growing sound design to re-create this world for petrol-heads. But he doesn't neglect his characters, and evokes the great work done on Frost/Nixon (2008), which was also a study of two giant, clashing personalities coming together on the world stage. Rush is an exhilarating experience, able to distinguish each race from the next and literally putting us in the driver's seat with the use of digital cameras. Although it occasionally drifts into formulaic territory with the introduction of the 'wives' (played by Oivia Wilde and Alexandra Maria Lara, respectively), Howard cleverly uses this as an insight into Hunt and Lauda's personalities. Hemsworth is very good in his first 'proper' post-Thor role, but it is Bruhl that you take away from the film. How he gets you to initially loath him, only to be cheering him on at the climax is the work of a great actor, and it's a crime that he has been snubbed by the Academy this year. Hopefully this will inspire a host of decent sports movies, as Rush proves that you can mix character study and even existential musings with the thrill of sport.

It's kind of a slow starter but actually gets better and better. If the first hour of the movie would have been better it would most definitely be a solid 8 for me.

Daniel Brühl is so good in this one!

Having seen the trailers and TV set-up (BBC as a Grand Prix insert) I was thinking OK so I've probably seen the best of this and it's going to be 'clunky' in parts or too far up it's own a$$.

But hey we can all be wrong, Ron Howard has added depth to a story I knew well, the presentation has a feel for the era the colour's are sometimes harsh and edgy.

The set pieces are well researched, the owners of some of the classic F1 hardware must have had an enjoyable time (not quite so sure about the Insurance Underwriters).

Where the story hits the spot for me is the acting of the main protagonists, they have life and depth. Hemsworths presentation of James Hunt is uncanny it's like a documentary he's almost as good as Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln.

If your not a F1 fan or from the 70's it may not be more than a blokes film, but give it a go it is going to end up being a important as Apollo 13 in the life of Mr Howard and quite frankly is by far the best car racing movie ever

''Rush'' is a very good film about the rivalry between two Formula 1 race car drivers and their lives behind it. Directed by Ron Howard, the film is a triumph concerning action sequences, film editing and sound. Despite it being a sports film about racing, ''Rush'' never fails to develop its characters, its story and its suspense thus delivering a deeply satisfying conclusion.

Beginning with the film's performances, one would expect to see little character development, acting and emotion but a whole lot of action. However, this is not the case. The film's performances are very good. Daniel Brühl gives an outstanding performance as Austrian Niki Lauda: from the character's personality, body movement, expressions and emotions to his speaking accent, Brühl manages to handle it more than well and deliver a very authentic and powerful performance. From his first appearance in the film, he stays a very powerful figure throughout the film and very memorable after it. He realizes the character's motives and feelings which enables him to fully portray his character. Despite his performances in films such as ''Thor'', ''Red Dawn'' and ''The Cabin in the Woods'', Chris Hemsworth gives a decent enough performance as James Hunt. He is far from outstanding but he portrays his character as he should be, never overacting nor underplaying his character, thus delivering a satisfying and believable performance as a race car driver. The rest of the cast doesn't have much screen time since the film mainly focuses on the two protagonists but their acting does not disappoint.

The film's exhilarating action sequences are probably the main reason people will go to see it and they will not be disappointed. With rapid but smooth editing, the renowned film editing duo (Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill) manages to ''tell'' the story rather clearly rather than just smothering it under its heavy action scenes. Other technical aspects such as sound editing, sound mixing and cinematography are superb. Sound, especially, plays a very important role in the film and luckily, the sound is clear, realistic and not bombastic as most Hollywood action films. The racing sequences are superb: we see them from every angle possible, never confusing nor annoying the viewer with their rapid cuts, instead keeping the viewer interested (especially during the final climatic race). As for the score, Hans Zimmer's fast paced music adds nicely to the film's racing sequences, turning the suspense meter way up without distracting the viewer. As with most of Zimmer's works, the film's score is very epic and memorable which captures the film's action.

What works very well in the film is the fact that it's not just a film full or car explosions, racing and trophies but a film which tells the story of two people who succeeded in the race tracks, a film which doesn't drown its characters under its impressive action sequences but allows them to breath.

Ron Howard is the rare Hollywood auteur that doesn't have a distinctive style (how did the guy that gave us "Frost /Nixon" give us Jim Carrey's "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"?!). In his latest film "Rush", we get a glimpse of Howard playing with some Danny Boyle-esque flair, especially in the racing scenes. Unfortunately, outside of this visceral, kinetic spirit, "Rush" lacks an emotional connection with its audience, leaving us in the dust with only a memory of what just sped past. The amazing true story about the on-and-off-the-track rivalry of racers James Hunt (Hemsworth) and Niki Lauda (Bruhl) should be ripe pickings for good filmmaking. The story has some unexpected turns that are enlivened by their being true. Add to that some decent performances and a strong middle section involving a hospital, this should be a no-brainer success. Sadly the film fails in a number of other ways: the dialogue, while not bad, is unoriginal and boring, clichéd and overly-Hollywood. This along with some silly, overwrought Hollywood moments ("We may hate each other, but at least we respect each other") hurt "Rush" immensely. Admittedly, I am not a racing fan of any kind, and this is clearly a movie made for them. Nonetheless, I think Howard is trying to reach beyond this demographic but comes up short. "Rush" is by no means a complete failure, but when it steps away from the formula 1 racing and slows down, it really putters out…pun totally intended.

In 1976, the rivalry between two brilliant racing car drivers, the British James Hunt and the Austrian Nikki Lauda, came to a head in the almost literally life-and-death struggle of the Formula One championship. American director Ron Howard ("Apollo 13", "A Beautiful Mind", "Frost/Nixon") and British scriptwriter Peter Morgan (both play and screenplay of "Frost/Nixon") have done a terrific job bringing the titanic struggle to the big screen, aided by some excellent casting and powerful sound and cinematography. Those were the days when most years a couple of drivers would be killed, so the stakes could not be higher.

Sensibly the car racing does not over-dominate, since this is essentially a character- driven conflict, but when the racing is on screen - notably in the final race - the excitement is visceral. The Australian Chris Hemsworth (previously best known as "Thor") and the Spanish-born German Daniel Brühl ("Inglourious Basterds") are so good as the British and Austrian drivers respectively that the dialect coaches should receive a special commendation. Arguably Brühl gives the stronger performance which should auger well for his future career.

A great strength of this tale is that there is not a hero or a villain. Both drivers had privileged backgrounds and were superbly talented, but both were flawed. although in very contrasting ways, including styles of thinking, driving and womanising (Olivia Wilde as model Suzy Miller and Alexandra Maria Lara as aristocratic Marlene Knaus respectively).

I never saw the recent film "Senna" (2010) so "Rush" reminded me most of the much older "Grand Prix" (1966), but what is stunning about "Rush" is that it all happened. A season of the fastest sport in the world decided in the last race by one point - you couldn't make it up. Rush to see the movie.

As a Cineworld Card Holder I was invited to a screening last night of Ron Howards new movie Rush.

Before I start...I am not a F1 fan, but I knew enough of the history of the main protagonists to appreciate the film. The main set pieces of the film set a year before I was born in 1976, so mainly my knowledge was based on my Fathers recollection of the events. I'd seen James Hunt in interviews and recently watched footage with Niki Lauda so got an idea of the characters.

The film is bang on in period, cars fashion and sets the tone excellently, the cinematography is nothing short of breathtaking and the fx are very much in keeping with the period, no ridiculous CGI.

The acting, on the whole is nothing short of miraculous, Hemsworth and Bruhl are fantastic, particularly Hemsworth, who's accent, mannerisms and natural acting was a big surprise. I could see a few awards for this role. I have seen Bruhl in quite a few films and I am always impressed so this just continues the trend. All the support actors are very good in smaller roles.

The film is well paced for 2 hours and quite graphic, particularly a few accident scenes.

Direction: Ron Howard - nice job, I'm not a massive fan and particularly after the da vinci/Angels fiasco's a big return to decent form. The flair was there but played safe (As normal) but let the story and the actors take centre stage.

If you like History in F1, a well documented rivalry and a film that capture this, watch it. It is similar to the excellent Control, Moneyball etc but with a bit of heart.

8 1/2 out of 10

I never thought I would ever watch a Ron Howard movie again much less write a good review of one.

Howard hasn't made a movie since "Parenthood" that has not bored me to tears and almost angered me with its pedestrian refusal to take any risks. He's turned into a lesser version of Steven Spielberg -- his films are just as maudlin and emotionally manipulative, but they lack Spielberg's technical panache.

However, the great reviews of "Rush" and the awards attention that swirled briefly around Daniel Bruhl got my butt in the seat for it, and I was surprised by actually liking it. It's a lean, mean telling of the intense rivalry between race car drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda. You don't need to care much about race car driving (I certainly don't) to enjoy the story, particularly that of Lauda, who overcame a devastating accident to return to the track. Bruhl is as good as everyone said he was at the time, and Chris Hemsworth, as Hunt, is serviceable if nothing special. This is still a Ron Howard film, so don't expect it to push any boundaries, but it's much more technically daring than anything else he's made, the cinematography and editing putting the audience in the driver's seat more than once.

Grade: A-

Niki Lauder is among the most well known personalities in the history of Formula One. Even today millions of Germans watch his TV presentation at every race. We know his manner and speech extremely well and any actor portraying him faces an uphill if not impossible task.

But Daniel Bruhl delivers a performance so wonderfully convincing in his faithful and profound portrayal that he should clearly be among the Oscar nominees for Best Actor. The story of Lauda's famous struggle with Hunt in 1976 has become the stuff of legends. And perhaps this production has used some artistic license to enhance them.

But the film isn't really about the thrilling story of those events. That's just the vehicle for a much deeper drama examining the ever relevant dialectic between hedonism and pragmatism. It's about the self beneath the skin rather than the glamor of the surface: a concept normally quite alien to the Oscar awarding Hollywood elite. So poor Daniel Bruhl must await another vehicle to display his superb talents. And one day he might be remembered internationally in his career as Niki was himself.

I liked this film a lot more than I would have anticipated. Sure I knew going in that the two main leads were both brilliant actors - Hemsworth especially has become a recent favourite of mine - but they both exceeded my wildest expectations. They became James Hunt (Hemsworth) and Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl), down to the smallest of detail, the most delicate of nuance. The 1976 racing season was before my time, but even though I'm just a casual Formula 1 fan, I had heard about it and I knew who these two were. They were such large characters, such giants in their chosen field, that had this film not captured them perfectly, it wouldn't have been half as good as it is now. Luckily Howard's directing and the performances of these two are some of the finest I've seen in a long time.

I also really like the fact that Rush is more than just a sports film about racing. It's a character study about two masters of their craft, embedded in deep rivalry. Both of them know that they stand unopposed, except for that one man, who's their polar opposite in both personality and driving style, yet who is just as capable. That's a great setting for a movie and Rush beautifully explores the possibilities given to it. You buy the rivalry and by the time of the final race I found myself at the edge of my seat, even though I already knew the outcome.

It's also great how the movie never takes sides. It's not a film about Niki Lauda - even though he was involved in its making - nor is it about James Hunt. It's about them both and about the sport as a whole.

To sum it up, I'd say this is the best sports movie I've seen in my life. But it's that because it's more than a simple example of its genre. It's a brilliant character study, an interesting period piece, a gripping drama and yes, at its core, a film with furiously fast cars. Highly recommended.

DIRECTION Ron Howard is amazing. His camera work here is absolutely incredible. I wouldn't at all be surprised if the cinematography and the sound editing are nominated for Oscars. The engines roaring alongside Hans Zimmer's score really gets you into the mood. The backdrop is gritty with lots of dark and gray colors giving it a tough 1970′s aesthetic. Howard places is camera so specifically and we get so many different angles that are gripping. Camera work inside the cars giving you the intense look of driving an F1 car as well as camera's on the grass looking up as they fly by. Howard's use of slow motion is also perfect and helps build the intensity of the rivalry he is exploring here. The racing is intense and the dangers are shown in some dramatic ways as the suspense keeps building up. The biggest problem is that Formula 1 isn't the biggest of sports here in the U.S. If people can get past that and go see this, they won't regret it.

Grade: A

SCRIPT The story follows two F1 drivers in the mid 1970′s that don't always get a long but have a mutual respect for one another. It centers around British driver, James Hunt and the Austrian Niki Lauda. Peter Morgan's script is brilliant and Howard brings it to life in some really great ways. In essence, both characters are the protagonist and the antagonist of the story. The film explores Hunt and his immature ways but at the same time makes him very likable. Then the story switches to Lauda and his quest to live his own life outside the big family business, yet again making him likable. However, at the same time each take their own turn in being the "bad guy" and showing you qualities that make this person flawed and unlikable in some ways. But then the movie brings it back around showing you why these characters are good characters to root for and the mutual respect they have for one another. It's the competition that drives them in this story. What makes it so great though, is that the audience really gets to choose who they want to root for. They build up and tear down each character so flawlessly. The use of narration at the beginning and at the end was a perfect choice as well. The ending becomes a bit sentimental and hits the buttons that you'd expect from Howard and company.

Grade: A

PERFORMANCES Daniel Brühl and Chris Hemsworth are amazing. This is perhaps Hemsworth's best as he portray's James Hunt in some incredible ways. He's the dangerous driver that has Tony Stark mentalities in terms of partying, women and being extremely likable. Yet Hemsworth shows some depth and some emotion here as well which this character calls for in some ways. Brühl, who you may know from Inglorious Basterds, almost steals the show. He's the Austrian car genius who becomes famous for knowing how to make the cars lighter and faster, thus making him part of the Ferrari team. One can argue he's the bigger lead here as he narrates a good chunk of the story and brings in some great perspectives. Brühl's performance is spot on though and brings life to this character even when Lauda is more deadpanned. Olivia Wilde is good here although her character is a small role. This is about Brühl and Hemsworth and they carry the movie extremely well.

Grade: A+

SCORE Freakin Hans Zimmer. The dude is on fire lately. A lot of people like to criticize Zimmer for having score's that are similar or nothing new but they work. His score for Man of Steel added a lot to that film and his score for The Lone Ranger was about the only good part of that movie. And his score for Rush was really great, again. It added a lot of intensity to the racing moments and has become something he's perfected. The score here is more laid back and in the backdrop though many moments but when the action ramped up, so did his score as well as your emotion.

Grade: A-

FINAL THOUGHTS Rush was an unexpected pleasant surprise. Given the sports stature of F1 in the U.S., I didn't have much expectations but Ron Howard usually delivers and he does once again. The cinematography is gorgeous and makes it visually very exciting. The performances are stand outs which makes the story feel so alive in many places.

Overall Grade: A

After a short framing section, this starts off with a bloody-mouthed Chris Hemsworth in half-undone racing coveralls strutting into an emergency room on a wave of testosterone like a cock into a hen house. Every female head in the place turns, and a glaze of lust falls across nurse Natalie Dormer's face. Within a minute and 4 lines of dialogue, he and she are doing the horizontal mambo on the examining table and, through a series of quick cuts, plenty of other places. In short, it looks like we're going to get a 16 year old boy's dream of being a race car driver.

It turns out to be a great deal more. Director Howard and writer Morgan turn out to have a lot more empathy with the precise, earnest, űber-professional Austrian Niki Lauda (known as the Rat or the Sour Kraut) than they do with long haired, gorgeous English party animal James Hunt – there's a montage after Hunt wins the 1976 Formula 1 driving championship that subtly trivializes and belittles what he does with his victory, and a concluding tête á tête between Hunt and Lauda that makes it explicit. This isn't surprising considering the way the critics have treated Howard's body of work over the years.

But along the way we're treated to a struggle between Cavalier and Roundhead, JFK and Nixon, inspiration and perspiration that is never less than captivating. The personal distaste between the two men, the contrast of styles, and the way they get into each other's heads are too intense for the subject of their rivalry, which after all is only motor racing. You feel that they were born 30 years too late, and that they should have been up in the sky a generation earlier, trying to kill each other in Spitfires and Messerschmitts instead of zipping around in McLarens and Ferraris. The gorgeous women (Dormer, Olivia Wilde, Alexandra Maria Lara) are more or less along for the ride as arm candy, although Hunt gets to display some dry, malicious English wit after his supermodel wife (Wilde) dumps him for Richard Burton. The racing sequences pull you in, and the overwhelming sound design gives you a real feel for the power (and fascination) of the internal combustion engine. The climactic race is subtly different than you'd expect from a sports movie but absolutely true to the characters.

This is not great art, but it is thrilling popcorn entertainment the way it's supposed to be done, and it is to racing movies like Das Boot is to submarine movies. They'll never have to make another one.

I was quite surprised by this movie. The ratings are good, but I don't like Ron Howard and I thought it was the usual, hollow overdramatization of actual events. Instead, it's a very nice movie, fairly accurate, and a must-see for any racing enthusiast.

First and foremost, the racing scenes and the championship events are accurate and spectacular, they're pure fun. I have to say there are some of the most perfect special effects I've ever seen, you can't say what's real and what's not.

Also, I've NEVER seen a more accurate depiction of the 70's style; that's a very important thing to preserve the atmosphere and let you believe the movie is actually set in the 70's. Lots of movies fail miserably while attempting this. Here, every single t-shirt and haircut of the crowds in the stands is spot-on, the film grain for the racing scenes is very good, the cars are perfect, and most notably the tracks are straight out of the seventies.

I like when the actors look like the real people they are interpreting. Here, everybody is a dead ringer: Niki, Marlene, Clay, everyone.

Acting is good, Bruhl starts a bit over the top, but soon you'll get aquainted with his persona, and you'll find it's actually a very good performance. Supporting cast is on par. Just Hemsworth is a bit off target, because Hunt had a playful note he's not able to replicate. Here he plays just the "handsome rogue", and little more.

The Lauda-Hunt relationship is the less accurate part of the story, but this is an understandable license.

Lastly, some quotes have real swagger, the Drake makes a cameo appearence, and the scene where Lauda drives in the italian countryside is outstanding.

Not bad but terribly overrated drama. Seems like these days every movie that is halfway good is over-hyped and hailed as a masterpiece. I don't know when it happened but at some point in the last decade or so the bar was lowered. Now every moderately good film is lumped in with the greatest of all time. I'm no racing fan but I have enjoyed racing films before. Rush is overlong and doesn't build to anything really. The ending, or more to the point the last half hour, felt like a story searching for a powerful finish that it never found. I know this is based on real people and events, but I fail to see how that matters in the context of judging how they told the story. A dramatic film is not a documentary and artistic license is acceptable and, in many cases, desperately needed. What it comes down to is that this is a middle-of-the-road drama. Nothing exceptional and certainly nothing new. The performances are adequate, but nothing to rave about. The story, real or not, is fractured and lacking in any sense of a point in the end. I felt like I learned nothing of significance about the two men that the film focuses on. This is particularly true for James Hunt, portrayed by Chris Hemsworth. Other than being a walking cliché, what else was there to the man? The film has no answers. It has few more for Daniel Bruhl's Niki Lauda. Perhaps if they had chosen to focus on just one of the men rather than both, they could have told a more interesting story. As it is, it's a superficial drama about two men with unimpressive racing footage sprinkled throughout.