156 min | PG-13 | June 27, 2025 | Apple Studios
A Brad Pitt racing movie had no business being this watchable. The supporting cast elevates what could have been a vanity project into something with actual depth.
I went in expecting two and a half hours of Brad Pitt coasting through green-screen racing footage. That’s not what this is. Kosinski keeps the pacing tight enough that the runtime doesn’t drag, and the racing sequences serve the story instead of burying it. The film never stops to explain downforce or tire compounds. It trusts you to care about the people in the cars, not the engineering.
The supporting cast does the heavy lifting. Javier Bardem brings warmth and weight to the team owner role. He makes you believe in the stakes of a fictional racing team without ever overselling it. Damson Idris holds his own against Pitt as the young driver with more talent than patience. But Kerry Condon is the real scene-stealer. Every time she’s on screen, the energy shifts. She brings a sharpness that cuts through the testosterone.
The redemption arc is the surprise. These stories usually lean on the same tired beats. Washed-up guy gets one more shot, montage, triumph. This one earns its emotional turns. The writing gives Pitt’s character enough texture that the comeback feels like a character study, not a sports cliche. Pitt is better here than he’s been in years, probably because the script gives him actual people to play off of instead of letting him do the Brad Pitt thing alone.
Not a perfect film. Some of the racing sequences blur together and the villain subplot is thin. But for a $250 million Apple Studios blockbuster about Formula 1, this is far better than it needed to be.