Less compelling than the real thing

Rating: 5/10 (22 June 2015)

James Hunt and Nikki Lauda, rivals on the track in Formula One, were both born into wealthy backgrounds, had the attention of beautiful women, and were both very arrogant young men, albeit in different ways. You might think that a dramatic reconstruction of their careers might not seem very appealing; but you might also remember that the documentary 'Senna', about another talented, spoilt and arrogant young racer was actually quite compelling. Unfortunately, Ron Howard's 'Rush' takes a simplistic approach to representing both the character of the two men and also the intricacies of racing, sometimes combining idiocies in both departments simultaneously (in the first race we see, Hunt is beating Lauda to some championship - the cumulation of a season's racing - without apparently even knowing who he is). You won't learn much about motor racing from this film, nor what makes a good driver, nor even much about the two men's characters beyond a tabloid characterisation. Even the track footage is strangely uncompelling.