Rush - Movie Review

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Movies based on real life can be tricky–after all, the audience knows how they end. Apollo 13 and Titanic are both examples of movies that made history fascinating, by transporting us inside characters’ lives and showing us historical events from their perspective.

Rush focuses on the 1976 Grand Prix season, when the rivalry between two drivers, Englishman James Hunt and Austrian Niki Lauda, pushed both men to the absolute limit.

They both came from wealthy families who withdrew support when they turned to racing as a career. Too, they were both at the top of their game and superb drivers.

Hunt (Chris Hemsworth of Thor) is a playboy with a devil-may-care attitude. He made no bones about being willing to risk his life daily, and he partied like a rock star. Lauda (Daniel Brühl of The Fifth Estate) is quieter and more controlled, working within the odds with logic and cold detachment.

The intensity of the rivalry makes for riveting viewing as you follow the careers of both men from their first meeting while racing Formula Three all the way through to a nicely detailed denouement showing what happened post-1976. Along the way there are relationships and marriages, disqualifications, crashes, exotic locations, and racing. Lots of racing.

Hunt’s early career was funded privately by Hesketh Racing, an extravagant racing team as known for their style as their wins. Christian McKay does a great job conveying the feeling of the flamboyant and irreverent Lord Hesketh, aided and abetted by the team of “Bubbles” Horsley (Julian Rhind-Tutt) and “Doc” Postlethwaite (Jamie de Courcey).

Lauda’s early career was somewhat more creative, as he self-funded through bank loans.

When both Lauda and Hunt are picked up by major racing teams and move up to Grand Prix (Formula One), things really get exciting. There are different foreign countries every few moments, and relationships ebb and flow in with the tension of racing and the need to perform as they race to be the World Champion Driver.

Bits of what happened during 1976 echoed the movie A Knight’s Tale (remember the weird competition between Heath Ledger’s Ulrich von Lichtenstein and Rufus Sewell’s Count Adhemar as competed in the World Jousting Championship?). Did Brian Helgeland know the history of Hunt and Lauda? I wonder.

A racing movie with heart that makes you root for both drivers to win. Recommended for anyone who has ever scoffed at a speed limit.

Reviewed by Elektra Hammond

Physics and Law Enforcement

Chaos,Panic,Disorder