The long awaited movie, imaginatively called, F1 The Movie, has finally arrived in cinema’s. The reviews have been mixed but that won’t stop enthusiasts wanting to see it. In fact it was the UK’s number one box office film last weekend .
We heard that viewing it on Imax enhanced the racing scenes considerably so we headed to The National Science and Media Museum to watch it on a proper Imax screen. Unlike many Imax screens which are in Imax proportions, their screen is huge and puts you in the centre of the action. At £12.50 a ticket its not cheap, but in my view well worth the extra.
Before entering the cinema you need to park any specialist knowledge of Formula1. If you going looking for flaws then you will surely find them, but it will spoil your enjoyment of the film. The story is pretty obvious from the opening seems and stretches credibility for anyone with a knowledge of racing. It would be wrong for me to reveal the plot but suffice to say it features an aging driver (the impossibly handsome Brad Pitt) being called in to save a failing team, and of course a love interest.
The story moves along at pace and the race scenes are spectacular (especially so in Imax). It is well acted and realistic(ish) and heads around the world to the F1’s best circuits. Much of the filming was done within the F1 circus so you will see plenty of characters that you recognise from real world F1. The soundtrack did much to enhance the movies, though it was a touch too modern for my taste.
How does it stack up against other F1 films? Well this is purely my opinion but it is significantly better than Rush, on par with Ferrari. But it doesn’t stand up against Grand Prix (but that’s probably just my age). Incidentally Grand Prix can be seen in CINERAMA on the worlds only CINERAMA screen at the Science and Media museum. See it on the widescreen weekend.
National Science and Media Museum
I enjoyed the film and any F1 enthusiast should see it. But remember its a film made for entertainment, not a documentary.