Less than a week after the Formula One (F1) engines shut off at the night races of the SingTel Singapore Grand Prix, Rush, a movie zooming in on the epic rivalry between 2 F1 racers opens on our big screens.

Diehard racing history fans may know these are Nikki Lauda (Daniel Bühl) and the late James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) who competed something fierce in 1976.

But even those who don’t, and additionally canʼt fathom the interest behind cars zipping madly round a track, like this UrbanWire reviewer, are likely to find this a surprisingly delectable film. That’s because Rush is based on a true story of a horrific crash on the tracks that left the 3-time F1 World Champ Lauda with severe head burns. What makes the film relatable is that it’s far less about the nitty gritty of car mechanics than the sportsmanship and competition between Lauda and Hunt.

Still, the croon of the engineering masterpieces of engine and the bass vibrating in the ears, close up shots of racers, will give you the feel of catching a live F1 race with the best seats in the house, or even better.

The show opens with a scene extracted from an F1 race in Germany (this race recurs later in the film). Hunt does a voiceover of the introduction before we travel 6 years back in time. The transition from the flashback to the current is confusing as there’s little change to Lauda and Huntʼs physical appearances to mark this. Surely at least their haircuts should have been different?

Lauda and Hunt express mutual dislike for each other based on gossips, even before their first meet. While the combative relationship never degenerated into a brawl, the spew of insults whenever they crossed paths was contentious enough. German actor, Brühl, (Inglourious Basterds, Good Bye Lenin!) pulls off a convincing heavy German-accented English as Lauda even though heʼs fluent in English, Spanish, German, French and Catalan outside character. Lauda has very amusing lines indeed, tickling with his sarcastic dry humor in his insults to Hunt.

Chris Hemsworth might as well be reprising his Thor role, as he exhibited similar qualities of the Norse superhero in this film, such as impulsive and rash behavior, except that heʼs traded in his trusty olʼ lightning hammer in exchange for a fast car. Perhaps for greater dramatic tension, the 2 leads are painted for their differences rather than their similarities: Lauda is an ingenious, rigid and disciplined man. Hunt, on the other hand, is a daredevil, a boy with talent. Hunt also lives life lavishly, smoking and drinking excessively.

But despite his wasted lifestyle, the only body worth looking out for in the film is his. Minutes into the film, Hemsworthʼs butt naked hot bodʼs already on full display. If those few seconds arenʼt enough, the filmʼs laden with countless boob shots, which are, of course, quite unnecessary.

We get the point. Hunt’s a Casanova who sleeps around with gorgeous ladies, from nurses to air stewardesses. Which is why it was quite jarring to see model Suzy Miller (Olivia Wilde) show up and heʼs suddenly smitten. Hunt marries her in the next scene (making it seem like it happened just a day later). Director Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind, Angels & Demons, The Da Vinci Code) sure did cut to the chase and vroomed past the details.

With the bulk of the film casting limelight on Hunt, Lauda only gets a stretch of his own screen time when he recuperates in the hospital after suffering from the earlier mentioned burns when his car caught fire in Germany.

Rush keeps you at the edge of your seat, which makes it quite an exhilarating experience. But loopholes show up like potholes on a racing track. Thereʼs a lost in characters along the way, even though the main story revolving around Hunt and Lauda is well developed. Oh, by the way, the team also took some liberties with the truth too, because the 2 protagonists were close friends in real life.

The side characters such as Huntʼs previous team manager faded off and reappeared abruptly with no more than a few scenes inserted here and there —as though Howard, and uncharacteristically so, suddenly remembered he has a few spare characters and decided he should plonk them in.

Undeterred by the potholes on the racing track, Howard has a strong cast who steers in the right direction and nailed it on the head. This tribute to Niki Lauda (now age 63) and the late James Hunt, who passed away 20 years earlier, is sure to relieve the memories of fans from that generation nevertheless.

Who doesn’t like a good show that makes your heart race?

 

Rating: 4.5/5

Release Date: Sep 26

Runtime: 122 mins

Language: English

Censorship Rating: M18

Genre: Action/Adventure

Director: Ron Howard

Main Actors: Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Bühl, Olivia Wilde

 

 This article is written by Charmaine Lim.