Another good Ron Howard movie

Rating: 7/10 (9 September 2013)

When you think Ron Howard, you think Richie, obviously; and then you think blockbusters. He's made a quite a few of them. Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, Frost/Nixon, Cocoon; and those are just the films that I like. Pretty much all of his films are commercial and/or critical successes, and every new film is met with a lot of hype and fanfare. We can now add Rush to that list of blockbusters.
For those that don't know, Rush is the true story of James Hunt and Niki Lauda, Formula 1 drivers in the 1970s. The two men were at the top of their game, which led to a very personal and merciless rivalry both on and off the track.
Rush follows the same pattern that all of Ron Howard's films seem to, which, considering his track record, is probably a good thing. The main similarity is the very strong story, and Rush has a fantastic one. The rivalry between Lauda and Hunt was a vicious one, with incidents that arguably could only have been the stuff of fiction. The fact that it's all true is incredible, and you don't need to be a racing fan to appreciate it. Another similarity. Like with Apollo 13 and Frost/Nixon, Howard is able to take a subject with a niche interest and make it appeal to the masses.
In Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl, we are also witness to two very good performances. If you've seen Inglorious Basterds, then you probably already know that Bruhl is a very good actor; and here, he's excellent as the cold, boring Lauda. The real star, though, is Hemsworth. After a filmography that includes superhero and horror movies, this might be seen his breakthrough as a serious actor. It was very impressive. The supporting cast were decent enough, but nobody else really stands out beyond the top two. What was nice to see is Green Wing alumni Stephen Mangan and Julian Rhind-Tutt make appearances. But, at the end of the day, you're watching the movie for the two leads, and they're very good.
Here's the problem, though. As good as the story is, and as good as the actors and the performances are, Rush falls down where so many of his films have done. The script. They're not awful, don't get me wrong – his films wouldn't be successful if the scripts were horrendous. The problem with the scripts are that they're overly sentimental and, at times, very cheesy. It really gets a little hard to watch when the stuff being said is so full of exposition.
However, if you're happy to forgive the filmmakers for that (and most audiences seem to), then you're still really going to enjoy this movie. Despite the subject matter, it manages to balance a good amount of humour and drama. Add in some excellent performances, and you've got a fun film to watch.
This will never go down as one of Ron Howard's best movies, and he won't win any awards for it probably, but it's a great effort. Give it a look.