Starring: Daniel Brühl, Chris Hemsworth, Alexandra Maria
Lara
A rising star on the Formula 3 racing circuit, English
driver James Hunt (Hemsworth) is famous for his racing ability and infamous for
his playboy lifestyle. On the circuit he makes a new rival in the incredibly
disciplined and serious Austrian racer Niki Lauda (Brühl). As the two advance
to Formula 1 and become the two greatest racers in the world when their rivalry
has disastrous consequences,
Centring on the famous James Hunt and Niki Lauda Formula
1 rivalry in the 1970's, Rush is a suitable film for Ron Howard's style and
background. A famous actor on TV since childhood, Howard moved onto directing
in 1977 with the low-budget film, Grand Theft Auto and now with Rush, he
returns to the world of cars zooming at high speeds. However, Rush also brings
with it comparisons with Howard's 1995 film, Apollo 13 with its period setting
and the fact that the film is based on real events. Rush is a fairly strong
film, but definitely falls short when compared to Apollo 13.
A significant part of why this falls short is in the
writing. The screenplay does have its strengths, deftly switching between Hunt
and Lauda, giving them both equal focus and setting up their myriad differences
which provide the film with a strong foundation. Unfortunately, much of the
film feels like its scrabbling over the same material meaning that he constant
back-and-forth between Hunt and Lauda, whilst enjoyable, does become a little
tiresome with Hunt's frequent description of a "rat" referring to Lauda's
appearance being particularly overdone (especially when the remarks about
physical appearance are being made about a man like Daniel Brühl).
On a sonic level, Rush definitely has more to boast
about. As expected, car engines roar and fill your ears with a wondrous
cacophony that make the driving sequences a joy to watch, whilst Hans Zimmer's
rather unorthodox score and rock music of the time, plays away in the
background, sometimes being all but being drowned out. Daniel Brühl and Chris Hemsworth both give solid
performances that lets the audience fully believe their personas as well.
Ultimately, Rush is a decent and respectable effort but with a few significant
flaws and whilst it doesn't count amongst Ron Howard's biggest blunders, it's
also not as great as his work has been in the past.
Rush opens in the UK on the 13th of September, followed
by a limited US release on the 20th and a general US release following on the
27th.
Next time, glamour, sex and psychopathy mingle in a
re-release of René Clément's film adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's The
Talented Mr. Ripley, Plein Soliel
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