Home Entertainment Ron Howard's RUSH is getting some first place reviews

Ron Howard's RUSH is getting some first place reviews

5 min read
7

Rush_1

If there’s one film genre that does not have a definitive film, it’s racing. Think about it. Boxing has Rocky. Marathons have Chariots of fire. Gymnastics and location based karate have Gymkata. But for racing, the only films that instantly come to mind are either Days of Thunder (Meh), or Driven (BOO!).

Ron Howard might be changing that opinion soon though, with Rush. The golden age of Formula 1 is retold through the lens of Hollywood. And so far, it’s starting to sound pretty damn awesome.Rush has hit the festival circuit in Toronto, and folks who have got an early look at the film are pretty much singing all manner of pit stop praises about it. Here’s what they’re saying, via SlashFilm:

Variety

Not just one of the great racing movies of all time, but a virtuoso feat of filmmaking in its own right, elevated by two of the year’s most compelling performances. It’s high-octane entertainment that demands to be seen on the bigscreen, assembled for grown-ups and executed in such a way as to enthrall even those who’ve never watched a race in their life.

Total Film

Rush far exceeds expectations, emerging as one of the most rip-roaring rides of Howard’s career. […] Rarely has a feature film captured the intensity and exhilaration of motor sport so well. Rush is the word.

Screen Daily

Ron Howard’s exhilarating and exciting delve into the fast and furious world of Formula 1 motor-racing is set against the backdrop of the sport during the 1970s, when everything about F1 was sexy, dangerous, edgy and thrilling. Taking the real-life rivalry between playboy British driver James Hunt and methodical Austrian Niki Lauda as its central story, Rush is the immersive, vibrant and gripping story of two men who were all about winning.

Telegraph:

There’s more going on here, then, than initially meets the eye. The film’s texture is due to screenwriter Peter Morgan (The Queen) who does his usual trick of writing modern “history plays”, accurately rendering known public facts while imagining vivid conversations behind closed doors. The real surprise is that Rush’s director is Ron Howard, whose work is usually marked by competent blandness. Not here, though. Rush induces the adrenalin suggested by its title in its racing scenes: howlingly, teeth-rattlingly loud and cut lightning-fast, in what look to be perilous close-ups. It’s far more of a thrill ride than watching Formula One on TV.

Hey U Guys:

Part of what is so appealing about this warts-and-all drama, is that there is no good guy as such, resulting in a very unbiased piece that ensures the viewer remains impartial regarding the rivalry, as we are witness to both the positive and damaging aspects to their flawed personalities. The structure is masterful, with the time being split evenly between the conflicting camps, as we follow two correlating stories and lives with equal footing. The rivalry itself is somewhat conventional, as the typical playboy versus the straight-laced conservative – however despite following every single cliché of the genre, given this is a true story, Howard is let off the hook. It’s a refreshing turn for the filmmaker, as he avoids the superfluous sentimentality for which he has become regrettably renowned – in exchange for a naturalistic and dramatic picture that has you completely engaged from start to finish.

Independent:

At times, the film veers into buddy movie territory. The drivers, for all their rivalry and seeming enmity, are utterly fascinated by one another. There is also an attempt to cast Hunt and Lauda as mythic archetypes. All this is only fitfully successful. It’s out on the track itself that Rush really picks up speed and emotional urgency.

Den of Geek:

When it hits top gear, Rush is a thrilling, frenetic experience that immerses the viewer fully in a world that’s equal parts grit and glamour, with admirable attention to detail and – despite a few liberties taken here and there – a determination to be even-handed about both its protagonists. It’s difficult to say whether the human story alone is enough to appeal to those who aren’t at least passing fans of F1, but whenever it gets behind the wheel it has a serious claim to being the best motor sport movie yet.

THR was one of the few left totally unmoved by the racing scenes:

Most modern-era car racing movies, from Grand Prix and Le Mans to Days of Thunder, have been far stronger at portraying the excitement on the track than at developing interesting downtime drama among the characters. But rather the reverse is true with Rush, which offers perfectly coherent racing coverage but devotes far more time to exploring the personalities of two drivers who represented behavioral polar extremes and drove each other to distraction.

Digital Spy rated the film three stars out of five, making theirs one of the most negative reviews:

Despite their best intentions, exhilarating race sequences and an Oscar-worthy turn from Daniel Brühl as Lauda, Rush fails to fully satisfy because it doesn’t delve deep enough into the psyches of men who risked their lives in often treacherous racetrack conditions in the pursuit of victory. What kind of fuel are their minds running on?

So far, Rush sounds like a damn fine film. Not the greatest movie ever made but certainly one of the best to depict the world of high-speed motor-racing. It’s out October 5 locally, and stars Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl as competing F1 drivers  James Hunt and Niki Lauda .

Last Updated: September 5, 2013

7 Comments

  1. I didn’t know marathons featured in Chariots of Fire 😉

    Reply

    • Major Commodore 64 Darryn B

      September 5, 2013 at 11:05

      It’s running right? All the same to me 😀

      Reply

  2. James Francis

    September 5, 2013 at 11:15

    Don’t forget about Grand Prix… http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060472/?ref_=sr_1

    Reply

    • Major Commodore 64 Darryn B

      September 5, 2013 at 12:03

      I had no idea that this film existed.

      Reply

      • James Francis

        September 5, 2013 at 12:27

        That’s why you guys pay me the big monies

        Reply

      • Kervyn Cloete

        September 5, 2013 at 12:29

        I hang my head in shame.

        Reply

      • Kervyn Cloete

        September 5, 2013 at 12:51

        Thinking about it, I have come to the conclusion that there is no way that Darryn could possibly never have heard of Grand Prix. Therefore I deduce that he did watch it, but then he also watched The FP and it killed off the brain cells where his memories of Grand Prix were stored.

        Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Check Also

Behold the madness of scalpers rushing to buy Pokemon cards

Picture the scene: You're up early, you decide to get some shopping done, and you head on …