Review – Rush

Rush, the recent biopic come auto-racing effort by Ron Howard, tells the story of the rivalry between career racer Niki Lauda and one-time champion James Hunt over the course of the dramatic 1976 Formula One season. Through these iconic characters we get an exploration of competitive friendship in what was, then, perhaps the most dangerous occupation in sports.

Chris Hemsworth plays James Hunt as a caricature of seventies machismo: dangerous on the track and legendary in the sack, all charisma and virility. Meanwhile Niki Lauda, represented on screen by the gloriously villainesque Daniel Brühl, is an über-serious, overly-focused, ambitious racer who is simply determined to be the very best. These are archetypes more than characters – the calculated, unemotional Spock clashing with the reckless, intuitive Kirk – but that is what makes Rush such great viewing. It’s endlessly-watchable popcorn drama, decorated with enough sex and danger to keep the heart pounding.

The major shortcoming of this film is that few of the races are shown in any great detail. We are treated to some gorgeous close-ups of vintage race cars, but the camera rarely pulls back to let the race play-out on screen. Instead we are told, through lines of flashy text, the results of races that are hinted at but never shown. Car racing is relegated to the background in Rush, and is no more integral to the story-telling than the soundtrack. Even the German Grand Prix, during which Niki Lauda experienced his fateful accident, is only briefly portrayed. And in exaggerated CGI, at that, which looks considerably less dramatic in the explosive recreation than it does in grainy, real-life footage.

Rush is a conventional little biopic marked by solid performances and a strong nostalgia for the seventies. But it is a film dominated by style rather than substance, making it an enjoyable if forgettable movie-going experience.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_u3FODrenM&w=400]