Terrific movie dramatises a compelling sporting rivalry

Rating: 8/10 (18 May 2015)

'Rush' tells the story of the dramatic and at times tumultuous rivalry between Formula One motor racing drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda during the 1970s, culminating in the remarkable 1976 season.
Motor racing films are notoriously difficult to gain mainstream attention and success, yet 'Rush' achieves this better than most, finding an excellent blend between the on-track action and the personal drama between both protagonists.
Told primarily from Lauda's perspective, the film encapsulates the nature of an elite sporting duel pitting the playboy, arrogant and cocksure Hunt against the cold and calculating Lauda. Both are chalk and cheese yet the relationship on screen demonstrates the symbiotic link between them. The narrative surrounding both drivers' journey to their 1976 face-off is cleverly juxtaposed: Hunt and Lauda are diametrically opposed characters yet both possess stupendously large egos that make neither particularly likable.
The film's centrepiece is Lauda's horrific accident at the Nurburgring in the 1976 German Grand Prix, which he barely survives, and his subsequent battle to return to compete for the Championship he is defending. The recreation of the real-life accident - and other racing scenes in the movie - is supremely done with the colours, speed and sound of the cars beautifully realised by Director Ron Howard. The track action is expertly contrasted with the grim hospital scenes where a recuperating Lauda has the last rites read, his lungs pumped and his burned skin repeatedly bandaged.
The culmination of the film is the final race of the 1976 season with both drivers risking everything in the torrential rain of Japan. For anyone not knowing the story, the denouement has the potential to be both surprising and a little underwhelming albeit completely in keeping with the logical progression of both characters.
'Rush' is a powerful and entertaining recreation of a true story that defined Formula One for years and, in many ways, defied fiction, such was its stupendous journey and finale.
Inevitable comparisons can be made with the magnificent 'Senna' documentary film and just like it, 'Rush' provides a story that will appeal to motor racing enthusiasts and the uninitiated in equal measures.