Two years ago, before he was introduced to the world as the superhero god Thor, the
blonde Australian known as Chris Hemsworth was an unknown actor. Around the same time,well-vetted,
ginger director, Ron Howard, made a failed buddy comedy staring Kevin James and
Vince Vaughn. Now, in 2013, with their
newest film “Rush”, they are both in a much better place, pairing together for
this historical biopic about Formula-One racing and clashing egos. Nothing here
is astonishingly new, astonishingly
original, or even all that astonishing in general, but like a well-oiled
machine, everything moves the way it’s supposed to and the film manages gets
from point A to point B, with everything still intact.
Perhaps
playing on the ultra-masculine, god-like demeanor of his Marvel Thor persona,
Hemsworth plays a cocky British car-racer named James Hunt, a real life,
champion driver from the 1970s’. Along the way, while graduating from Formula
Two buggies to Formula One speedsters, he meets an Austrian brat from a family
of wealth a privilege named Niki Lauda, played by “Inglourius Basterds” actor,
Daniel Bruhl. While Hunt wins his way into the big-leagues, Louda buys his
ticket in, starting an instant rivalry between the two talented drivers. Not
making anything easier, they are also complete philosophical opposites, both on and off the
road. Louda likes to live simply and race carefully, within the strict parameters
of the race-track rules. Hunt, on the
other hand, seems more interested in reveling in his wealth and celebrity with
anyone who is willing to show him a good time, especially beautiful women like
the young Suzy Miller (Olivia Wilde), who he eventually--but not faithfully--marries
out of pressure from his family and friends.
Much of
the film follows these two as they separately race their way to the top,
knowing that at some point they will eventually have to show down against each
other for the top prize. It’s an easy sports-movie formula, but this film pads
that tired structure with a sense of tobacco stained, gritty 70s’ realism and
two lead performances that are well-managed and well-rehearsed.
In fact, most aspects of this film are
thoughtfully conceived and executed. It has strong central performances, the
tone is consistent, the world looks convincingly period, and the drama is handled in
a way that feels honest and heartfelt, without drifting into sentimental
melodrama. Both the direction and the camera work are also very nice and the
sense of speed during some of the racing scenes creates a palpable tension and
excitement. Other times, however, some of these scenes are over-edited and
somewhat choppy and occasionally this tends to muddle the action or disorient the
set-pieces. More single takes or longer
held shots on the track itself might have let these races breathe a little and
given the audience a better sense of the length of each lap, but this is a
minor quibble for otherwise quality offering.
I liked
“Rush” but I can’t say that I fell in love with it. In part, this was because
of the formulaic plot structure, and in some ways, because of the telegraphed
emotional arc between Bruhl and Hemsworth. But as a character piece it doesn’t
have to be too complicated and as a sports movie it doesn’t need to do much
more than give you someone to root for. It’s better than average and in fact,
it’s pretty good, but as a would-be prestige film there seems to be layer of
textual gratification that just keeps it from reaching greatness.
Originally published in the Idaho State Journal/Oct-2013
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