Head 'Rush'

Rush
Directed by: Ron Howard
Written by: Peter Morgan
Starring: Chris Hemsworth & Daniel Bruhl.  

The first half of this movie is so all over the place it's hard to not only follow, but really care what is going on.  Quickly falling into the trap that so many biopics fall into, Rush attempts to cover a lot of ground in a small amount of time.  As you watch, you're struggling to figure out which pieces are important.  Rush is like the high school math problem that gives you too much information to solve for 'x.'  However, once you sift through everything and finally arrive at 'x,' you're oddly satisfied knowing that you could out smart the problem and arrive at the desired answer.  At Rush's halfway point, you finally figure out 'x' and the movie becomes engrossing.  When you thought there was no way it could build to a satisfying conclusion, the movie does just that.  It's unfortunate that it took so long for the film to find it's footing. 

Let's get out of the way any notion that you must be a fan of Formula One racing.  You don't.  I have no interest, yet once the film kicks into the right gear, I was hooked.  Rush takes place in the 1970's world of Formula 1 racing, focusing on the rivalry of two very good drivers.  James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) spent years working his way out of lower divisions to claim a spot in Formula 1 racing.  Niki Lauda (David Bruhl) decides to buy his way in.  With the right amount of money not only can he secure a spot in the top division, but also the best and fastest built car of the time.  This is very unsettling to Hunt, especially after Lauda beats him during a Formula 3 race - where Hunt only lost due to an accident.  The beginning of the film sets up the rivalry between Hunt and Lauda, but then quickly goes off to explore the early lives of each.  Something that is done quickly, haphazardly, and with little consequence to the main set-up.  It would be one thing if we got a better sense of each person and how much they differ from the other, but the jumping from story to story does not allow for this to happen.  By the time each is competing against the other for the Formula 1 Championship Title (which Lauda has already won), you've already lost interest in their rivalry.  Until, the Tokyo race.  

The race in Tokyo, on one of the most dangerous courses in the world is not just a turning point for Hunt and Lauda, but a turning point for the movie.  Screenwriter Peter Morgan (who wrote the fantastic The Queen and Frost/Nixon) and director Ron Howard ramp up the excitement and tension by focusing the film on its central story - the rivalry between James Hunt and NIki Lauda.  In a scene before the Tokyo race, Morgan perfectly contrasts Hunt's romanticism with Lauda's practicality.  While there is a great show for 'love of the game,' each persons flaws are on full display - quickly allowing you, the audience, to empathize with both characters and thus creating the films much needed tension.  

Events in Tokyo do not go well.  The already dangerous course made even more so by a torrential downpour.  Lauda is in a violent crash that resigns him to a hospital for  weeks, missing several important races.  This race and subsequent accident mark a huge turning point for the film.  As the characters take much more shape, the tension and drama between Hunt and Lauda becomes real and tangible.  And what's fantastic is depending on who you are will determine which character you root for.  Hunt and Lauda are both real people with qualities both positive and negative.  Qualities you might find negative another person will find intriguing.  

While the film wraps up neatly (it is a Ron Howard film, after all) with the obligatory 'final meeting,' the second half has all but made up for the deficits of the first half.  Meeting in a hangar after not seeing each other for several years, Hunt and Lauda have their 'final words' for each other.  Or when the filmmakers spell everything out for the audience, as if they are unsure whether they did a good enough job throughout the movie explaining each character.  Or, they assume the audience isn't smart enough to get it.  Either way, this scene, like in other films, is an unnecessary add on to a film that though started off on shaky ground, ends on a thrilling and satisfying high note.