Rush, The Movie: Personal Review of an Exhilarating experience

Rating: 8/10 (28 September 2013)

I had zeroed in on Rush as one of the movies that I was going to watch on the big screen (the Ron Howard & F1 union factor), here in Dubai and was waiting for it eagerly. And boy it was the worth the wait. Rush is not your run-of-the-mill movie in the sporting drama bandwagon which caters only to F1 enthusiasts.
F1 fan or not, the way Howard has showcased the legendary rivalry between F1 greats, Niki Lauda and James Hunt makes for compelling and intense viewing. The banter and the doses of humour interspersed throughout the flick form the crux of the "foe-mance" between Hunt and Lauda (played exquisitely by Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl respectively) & are the high points of film. Howard is spot on with his depiction of the events surrounding this fabled rivalry. His portrayal of the 2 legends, with contrasting personalities who are poles apart and yet are driven by equal love for the sport and ambition makes the flick, an interesting and exhilarating ride. The movie is crisply edited and moves along at just the right pace for a biopic.
Apart from all this, in my opinion, ultimately what clinches it for Rush and catapults it into the "bench mark" shelf of movies; making it one of the great sporting drama movies of all time, are the parts just before the climax and the climax itself. The miraculous & awe-inspiring recovery of Lauda(after the life threatening crash in Nuremberg) culminating into the final race of the dramatic 1976 season in rain soaked Japan(with the stunning Mount Fuji in the backdrop) has been shot and executed "jaw-droppingly" well. It's a spectacle to say the least. Expect cinematographer, Anthony Dod Mantle to win a few accolades for his staggering work, as Howard's team on the whole excels in executing & pulling off breath-taking F1 set-pieces to perfection.
In Rush, we have a film which Ron Howard & his team have managed to steer just about correctly at every corner/chicane of movie making. The flick has almost everything, right from the movie score to the acting, working for it, like a well drilled F1 car. In the end what it all boils down to; the essence of Rush, the movie, lies in its two protagonists. It's thrilling, funny and unpredictable just like Hunt and meticulously filmed, is blunt but with touch of emotional and inspirational edge to it just like Lauda.
Formula 1 buff or not Rush to the nearest movie theatre to catch this un-missable adrenaline edge of the seat ride.