Review of “Rush”
Verdict:
Impeccably crafted, smartly scripted and built around two superb leading performances, this riveting drama, with twists and turns like on a race course, is a hit. And also, ladies, watch Rush to get a glimpse to Hemsworth’s ASSets and various moments of shirtlessness!
Plot:
The 1976 Formula 1 World Championship is the stuff of legend – a majestic battle between the extravagant British playboy James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) racing for McClaren and the serious, unflatteringly-nicknamed “The Rat” Austrian Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl). The drama, glamour and life-threatening danger of the Grand Prix circuit was at an all-time high and this Summer, the tale of the drivers’ fierce rivalry is hitting the big screen in Ron Howard’s new biopic, Rush. Like chalk and cheese, one of them approached F1 with detail, obsessed with numbers, calculations and risk assessment and the other had a gut-driven, head-down, foot-on-the-floor animalistic approach.
Hemsworth, wearing Hunt’s red overalls with long blond surfer locks, is lounging outside his team garage swigging a Coke, resting his ample frame against Hunt’s original red-and-white McClaren M23 (one of the many vintage cars sourced by production), surrounded by a bevy of blonde, scantily clad pit dollies, when news arrives of his disqualification at the Spanish Grand Prix being overturned. Cue much cheering and celebration from the McClaren ranks, scowls and consternation from the Ferrari team next door.
Review:
With Rush, authenticity is crucial. You are swept along the by the story line, eyes fixed on to the silver screen. The treatment of Lauda’s crash and his recovery are brutally realistic without being overly theatrical for the benefit of lascivious entertainment.
Ron Howard successfully created two very different characters, both fierce competitors, neither a hero nor a villain.
James Hunt (played by Chris Hemsworth) and Niki Lauda (portrayed by Daniel Bruhl).
A pleasure-seeking, courageously confident James Hunt is played by the purely excellent Chris Hemsworth, who has more sex appeal, allure and charm than all the 007s put together. From a ballsy boy beating up a journalist to an apologetic man when face-to-face with the heavily burned Lauda, Hemsworth covers all the bases effortlessly. Hemsworth carries James off to a tee with his mischievous baby blues, playboy swagger and rebellious semi-sneer. “Hunt the Shunt” is described as an “immortal fuck,” and this came off on screen very well with occasional moments of shagging and full lustrous sex. The shot of Hemsworth’s butt was also a bonus for all the ladies out there 😉 … Clearly Chris Hemsworth’s “assets” became a highlight of the film!
With the outgoing, in-your-face action from Hunt giving the film its muscles and balls, the overly analytical and hugely unpopular Lauda, portrayed by Daniel Brühl, is a gradual display, in contrast. Brühl cleverly highlighted Lauda’s accuracy and vulnerability giving the film its soul. Throughout the film, you may be rooting for Hunt, but as you walk out of the cinema theatre, you’ll be moved by Lauda.
Olivia Wilde, playing Hunt’s supermodel wife, has a minor role, where she boasts her pitch-perfect British accent. Alexandra Maria Lara, as Marlene Knaus, Lauda’s first wife, gives an astonishing, breathtaking, performance.
Howard approached Rush more like a rock ‘n’ roll film than a sports movie, both visually and thematically. Howard uses every trick in the book to heighten the swerve racing sequences going at break-every-bone-in-your-body speed. Hans Zimmer’s score immediately immerses you amongst all the action with pounding and drilling sounds.
By the time we reach the obligatory closing real-life footage relayed in jazzy split screen, Rush will make you pine for a more character-filled, glamorous era of sport, but more importantly, it has replaced interest in cars careering round a track with fascination in two extraordinary lives.
The real life Niki Lauda and James Hunt in 1976.
Ultimately, Rush is a winner on every front! Like Hunt, it is sexy, playful and full of thrills. Like Lauda, it is intelligent, straight-to-the-point and touching.
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