A touching movie about two motorsport rockstars

Rating: 10/10 (20 February 2014)

I do not very often find a film to be worth a 10/10; there's always something that would keep a fantastic candidate at a 9. But with Rush, it was difficult to find that something. It was just terrifically made. And I'm not being a biased gearhead either. Granted, I did not know too much about these two drivers until the movie came out. And maybe there were other highlights from the 1976 seasons that were not included, but that was not the point of the movie.
First and foremost, a big shout out to the make-up crew and whoever else deals with the appearance of the actors because what they have done is marvelous. I looked into the way the real Hunt, Lauda, and others looked and there was not much of a difference. I have not seen a documentary type film be so accurate in that respect maybe ever. And the actors. Man, they really knew their characters well. Job very well done.
What Ron Howard has done here is expose what really goes on in a driver's mind on and off the track and how he interacts with his competitors. For the duration of the film, the viewer is immersed in the world of Formula 1 and all the drama associated with it.
It is impossible to not have your heart beat at an elevated rate and impossible to not develop a connection with the people and the time because everything in the film was very 1970s (at least, what I know of the 1970s), including the clothing and all the technology.
All in all, Rush is probably the best motorsport movie I have ever watched and definitely one of the best overall. I was truly touched by the story of James Hunt and Niki Lauda and learned a lot in the process about the history of Formula 1. It is extremely genuine and not one to be missed at all! Watched and written 02/20/2014.