F1: The Movie (2025) was one of the year’s most exciting big-budget action movies. It had a decent return at the box office, groosing over $600 million against a budget of $200 – 300 million. We discussed the movie on our podcast (see the video below) and Deniz Arslan wrote about his thoughts on the movie which we have shared in this article…
Joseph Kosinski puts you right in the driver’s seat with Brad Pitt, delivering thrilling race sequences, powerful music, and a true big-screen feel, even if the story plays it safe and follows a well-worn path from start to finish.
I regret not being able to see this film in a movie theater. I truly regret it. Because nowadays, very few action films are made that are actually worth seeing on the big screen — films that genuinely aim to offer the audience an authentic cinematic experience. Or rather: good, big-budget ones. Outside of comic-book adaptations, fantasy films, or novel adaptations, it’s becoming increasingly rare to come across action films set in the world we know.
One of the rare recent examples that managed to create this feeling was Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning. Before that, Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One in 2023 offered a similar experience.
But if the question is “What is the best action film of the 2020s?”, my answer is still clear: Top Gun: Maverick (2022). That said, F1: The Movie is in no way lacking compared to it. The most important reason for this is that both films share the same director: Joseph Kosinski. I think Kosinski has a special talent for making the audience live in the moment. Just as Top Gun: Maverick makes you feel like you’re flying, this film makes you feel as if you’re sitting behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car.
Some films ultimately aim to tell a good story. Others — especially action films — primarily aim to excite you. In pursuit of that goal, sometimes two people fight, sometimes buildings collapse, sometimes bombs explode. Because these films spend huge amounts of money on production and visual effects, the story often takes a back seat. As a result, they tend to have shallow and formulaic narratives.
F1: The Movie has one clear and singular goal: to expose the audience to as many racing scenes as possible. Because it has no other concern, it comes with a surface-level story, characters lacking depth, and cliché dialogue. Everything that happens in the film exists solely to carry you toward the next thrilling race scene and, ultimately, the big victory at the end.
Under normal circumstances, a film relying on such a familiar narrative formula would be a serious point of criticism for me. However, since I believe that action films of this kind, by their very nature, are not trying to be anything more than this, I don’t particularly criticize it here. We’ve watched hundreds of films with essentially the same plot as F1: The Movie. In some of them, just like in this one, Brad Pitt was also the lead. In terms of tone, the film sits somewhere between Moneyball (2011) and the Fast & Furious series.
The story is familiar: an aging former Formula 1 driver returns to the sport to take revenge on life and his career, to finally win the championship he’s wanted for years. At the same time, he mentors a young, talented but still immature driver. In this respect, the film shares similarities with many classic sports movies. The only reason I invoke Fast & Furious is that cars are also at the center of this film — and the film isn’t trying to be anything beyond that anyway.
On the other hand, the film is full of goosebump-inducing moments and features some of the most impressive music I’ve heard in a long time in a theatrical release. I think Hans Zimmer has composed his most memorable and striking melodies since Interstellar, Inception, and The Dark Knight trilogy.
In short, aside from telling a cliché story, the film has no significant flaws. There isn’t a single moment in its story or screenplay that I would call “stupid” or boring. In that sense, F1: The Movie offers an almost flawless experience for audiences who want to go to the cinema, lean back, and enjoy two entertaining hours with a bucket of popcorn. Even though I couldn’t experience this in a movie theater, I can easily imagine what it must feel like to watch this film on the big screen.
That concludes our review of F1 The Movie
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