Connors vs Borg

Rating: Null/10 (15 October 2013)

Not being a follower of Formula One, I was totally oblivious to what transpired in that universe in the 70s (or any other decade, for that matter). Happily and wisely, I chose not to be any wiser on this subject prior to watching "Rush". Otherwise, it would have seriously compromised my enjoyment of this superb fact-based movie. Not knowing how the suspense turned out was obviously the most important. But almost equally important was the fact that there could be one and only one ending – the factual one. Put it in another way, regardless of whether a character survived or got kill in a crash (don't suppose it constitutes a spoiler to say that there are car crashes in a movie about Formula One racing), if this were fictional, I could always "disagree" with the way the story was written, or even go a step further to say: if I had written this, blah, blah, blah. The beauty of a biopic is that you can never quarrel with the ending and, ironically, it makes the suspense that much more exciting (assuming, of course, that you are in the fortunate position of not knowing what had happened when you walked into the cinema).
Instead of plot twists, it's the character clash that keeps you glued to your seat. I confessed from the very start that I was not a Formula One fan. But I was fortunate enough to be a tennis fan during the same period, and entertained by a very similar personality clash, by two of the best in the field. Granted that Jimmy Connors was in no way whatsoever a womanizer such as James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth), there is a similarity in their flamboyant persona. And both were from the English speaking world, the U.S. and the U.K. respectively. At the other side of the court (or at the next lane, whichever you prefer), there are the ultra-cool, composed tacticians, Bjorn Borg and Niki Lauda, from Sweden and Austria respectively. I hasten to point out also the difference here, as Borg would never be caught raising his middle finger or flinging around the four-letter-word as Lauda so readily did. But still, in both cases, the fundamental similarity is prominent: fire vs ice, passion vs determination.
Ron Howard demonstrates once again his directing versatility in offering this heart-pounding car race drama, something I don't believe he has done before. He did an excellent job in choosing his leads and in getting the scriptwriter, camera crew and everyone else to work together to create this first rate mainstream entertainment that is also intelligent. The classic conflict of two heroes who hate and admire each other all at the same time makes Howard's job a little easier. Just as an added bonus, as a little diversion from enjoying the excellent acting of the two leads, you can also try to decide which of their respective love interests is more attractive: Olivier Wilde or Alexandra Maria Lara. At the end of the day, that is really an "eye of the beholder" issue.