"Rush" Review

Rating: 9/10 (29 September 2013)

"Rush" is one of the best films of the year. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of depth and emotional story telling this film possess. From its brilliant script that infuses humor, drama, and a story about a fascinating rivalry to its impeccable and detailed oriented direction, this film succeeds on every level.
Ron Howard's direction is extremely noteworthy as I felt like a part of the journey and involved with the characters as I cheered them on. In the beginning, I was rooting for James, but as the movie progresses and things unravel, I was cheering for Niki. However, as the movie moves forward, I couldn't choose one over the other. This is the type of engagement that I love in movies, it keeps the audience involved and contently thinking about every situation and the characters as a whole.
This film is well edited and shot as well. I couldn't find a useless or uninteresting moment in this film. Everything flowed very well and the film moved at a brisk pace. It felt as every shot or sequence is catered to moving and developing the characters and their story forward. The racing sequences are well shot and make you feel a part of the race. My heart rushed when characters successfully made narrow life endangering turns. It is a really good film to look at as the scenery and environment crafted feels inviting and absorbing.
The cast in this film is superb. Chris Hemsworth gives his finest performance to date as a carefree playboy. Even though his character James Hunt doesn't appear serious, he struggles with his inner demons trying to be taken a bit more seriously. Daniel Bruhl also gives and equally impressive, if not better, performance as Niki Lauda an arrogant self-absorbent racer. It's interesting to see his character go from caring only about himself and racing to something more important. The greatest aspect of the characters are their interactions. I really enjoy how they can't stand each other, but can't be successful without each other either. While they hate one another, they find a mutual respect for the other. It's quite endearing to see how they have each others back off the tracks.
Overall, "Rush" is an amazing movie and totally worth your time. It's a movie that has everything, from drama to humor to love. The greatest aspect of the film is its truly brilliant and masterful score by Hans Zimmer. His score gives the right amount of emotional punch along with improving everything we see and giving the film a greater amount of importance. I give this film an extremely high 4.5/5, a well oiled film that has no wasted parts.