Sometimes a little Dad Cinema is good for the soul!

“F1” follows a veteran race car driver (Brad Pitt) who is hired by the owner of a struggling Formula One team (Javier Bardem) to help try and save their season. Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, and Tobias Menzies also star, while Joseph Kosinski directs.

I was looking forward to this one for several reasons, mainly because it’s directed by Joseph Kosinski, who helmed “Top Gun: Maverick.” And while it’s easy to label this as “Top Gun with cars” or as simply an expensive Formula One commercial (both of which are accurate), that would be doing disservice to the sleek and dedicated craftsmanship that Kosinski and his team put into the film, which serves its purpose of being a fun time at the movies (even if it hits a few speed bumps along the way).

For all of Apple’s many flaws as a company, I always point out that they are one of the few studios still willing to give auteur directors $200 million to make adult movies, and put those movies into theaters. In the current movie climate, films like “Killers of the Flower Moon” or “Napoleon” struggle to get made but since Apple has such deep pockets they can afford to take risks. And you see every dollar spent on “F1” (allegedly 200 to as much as 300 million of them) on-screen, with shiny car garages, gorgeous sweeping shots of exoctic locataions, and, of course, an ample amount of car crashes. Kosinski will often put us into the POV of Pitt’s car and you really do feel like you’re behind the wheel. From the sound mixing and shaky cam, to hearing the team radio chatter discussing strategy, the racing sequences are incredibly well-made and immersive, which is obviously what we are all here for.

I like Brad Pitt, he’s the type of movie star we don’t really have many of nowadays, and he does a good job in the rugged career underdog role. He has his trademark sense of “cool” that he has shown in the “Ocean’s” movies (and in last year’s other Apple film “Wolfs,” which I enjoyed), but also is given a few scenes to give an emotional plea or moment of contemplation. It isn’t going to be one of his most memorable roles (for my money, his recent work in 2022’s “Babylon” is some of the best of his career), but he is tasked with carrying much of the film’s non-racing scenes and he steps up to the plate.

The script was largely written by Ehren Kruger, who co-wrote Kosinski’s “Top Gun: Maverick” (earning an Oscar nomination in the process), but also received rewrites by Jez Butterworth (who co-wrote 2019’s “Ford v Ferrari”), Christopher Storer (who created “The Bear”), and Aaron Sorkin (known for his snappy dialogue in the likes of “The Social Network”), and I think the contributions of each can be felt. Kruger created the framework for the film, which mirrors “Maverick’s” “old-school career guy trying to cut it with a young hot shot in a changing world” story. Butterworth knows how to make an intense racing sequence and Storer creates contentious workplaces, while you can tell the lines Sorkin added (they’re witty and fun but don’t sound like responses normal humans would ever give). Things can get a little repetitive (there’s multiple crashes, arguments, and press conferences), but for the most part the 156-minute runtime isn’t felt (until the climax, which seemingly refuses to end).

I saw this in IMAX, which definitely lent itself to the immersiveness of the film (I plan on rewatching it in 4DX, which will play like a roller coaster). I don’t use the “it demands to be seen on a big screen” line as often as other people, but this is a case of saying this should be seen on the big screen. If you watch it at home on Apple TV, not only will you not get the same big picture and booming sound (plus a solid Hans Zimmer score, which in ways harkens back to his “Days of Thunder” work), but when the film is just people talking you may be tempted to look at your phone.

“F1” is a very well-crafted film about a sport that many people (myself included) take for granted or overlook, and features a cool performance from Brad Pitt. I care very little about racing but after binging the likes of “Days of Thunder,” “Gran Turismo,” and this over the past week, I think I may have found a new guilty pleasure genre (and who knows, maybe I’ll tune into a race or two in real life); and that, my friends, is the magic of the movies.

Critics Rating: 7/10