Speed thrills and speed kills!

Rating: 8/10 (28 July 2014)

Rush (2013) Director: Ron Howard
This movie narrates the true accounts of the sporting rivalry between Niki Lauda and James Hunt, F1 racing champions in the mid 1970's.
Director Ron Howard returns to his brilliant version as a story-teller after crowd-pleasers like the two Robert Langdon movies and the middling movie 'The Dilemma'. His last real good movie was Frost/Nixon about 5 years prior to this one.
This movie narrates the stories of two F1 legends who are not very popular to the post 1980's ilk. I actually read about Niki Lauda a few years ago in a story of guts and perseverance – Niki suffered severe burns when his car crashed in a F1 race in Germany with part of his face burnt off and his lungs damaged with internal burns. However 6 weeks after that incident, he returns to the race track in Italy and comes in 4th place. Just an amazing story. Didn't realize then that I was going to see it in a movie.
Howard does a good job setting up the back story of characters – Hemsworth (Thor) as Hunt and Bruhl as Lauda – about their appetite for racing, cars and success. Their initial disdain for each other sets each on the path for achieving racing glory. While Hunt partied, Lauda engineered. The movie explores the dynamics and business of racing, the life of racers, the engineering marvel and the frenzy of the sport.
Zimmer's music is outstanding, and the camera work & sound editing is simply brilliant. The race sequences are a stand-out and keep you on the edge of your seat. If you don't know your F1 history then it's even more nerve wracking.
In my opinion, the movie focused on Hunt – how he was wronged and how he wronged. But my attention and respect was saved for Niki Lauda who was able to manage his fame and stature in real life. He is truly a living icon.
Both Hemsworth and Bruhl give memorable performances and they live their characters on screen plus a fine return to form for our good old Richie Cunningham. :)
This is one of the best movies released in 2013. Watch it if you haven't.