‘F1: The Movie’ throttles itself back

Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) is the kind of driver they don’t make anymore. He races on instinct and adrenaline, pushing aside the fancy gadgets and gizmos. He doesn’t care about fame or money; just the thrill of the ride and where it will take him next.

He’s also crashed every kind of car there is, doesn’t play well with authority, and is just a general pain in the ass. He’s a has-been, or, depending on who you’re asking … a never-was. That combination of salt and pepper makes him the perfect Hail Mary pass for the fledgling Apex Grand Prix team, owned by his friend and former racing buddy Ruben (Javier Bardem). He’s got a raw talent in Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), who needs a bit of mentoring before he can start thinking about being the best of the best.

The familiarity of that plot stems not just from its similarities to several other films in the sports subgenre, but from “Top Gun: Maverick,” also directed by Joseph Kosinski. Sonny is Maverick, Joshua is Rooster, the race team is the other pilots, and the F1 season is the battlefield. It’s as simple as that.

One could claim that Kosinski is just playing the same notes, almost becoming a cover version of himself. Others will say that he knows his strengths and what his audience wants. Both sentiments are true on a spectrum, with me leaning closer to the former.

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There’s plenty of spectacle to go around, all bought and paid for through the combined war chests of producer Jerry Bruckheimer, studios Apple and Warner Bros. Pictures, and the International Automobile Federation. The reported $250 million to $300 million budget is lavishly presented in every crisp image and roaring piece of sound.

If “Top Gun: Maverick” was a not-so-subtle commercial for U.S. Navy aviation, this is an unabashed love fest for F1 racing. Characters give speeches about growing up with dreams of being here, and real-life stars like Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton (also a producer) make appearances.

Just as they did in “Top Gun: Maverick,” Kosinski and cinematographer Claudio Miranda combine practical driving with convincing visual effects. They avoid the clichéd mantra of “just drive faster,” opting instead to dig into the nuts and bolts of racing strategy.

When are you going to make a pit stop? What tires are you going to use? When are you going to switch them out? What positioning are you hoping to grab on this next turn? These are the decisions that the drivers have to make in a split second, all while strapped to a glorified 200 mph rocket. It’s thrilling, even if it all follows a pretty similar pattern as we travel across the globe as the team competes just to stay afloat.

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All that spectacular showing is what makes the telling especially grating. Kosinski and co-writer Ehren Kruger can’t be faulted for wanting to guide audience members unfamiliar with this world. But having the announcers commentate on every single move takes things several steps too far.

I’m either being told what’s about to happen or what just happened, neither of which I wanted or needed. What’s the point of building suspense through intricate visual language if you’re going to spell everything out right before the big reveal? This might sound like just a nitpick, but it’s one of those game-breaking bugs that would infinitely enhance the experience with its removal.

There’s also not as much humility to latch onto either. Those supposedly thorny but lovable characters are just a bit annoying, never fully earning our respect or admiration. Every character talks about wanting to “hear it straight,” which really just means hearing whatever the plot needs them to.

Pitt is still at his most assured coolness, the movie star magic never fading even as he’s fully immersing into the “I’m gettin’ too old for this” phase of his career (see last year’s “Wolfs”). Kerry Condon gets the blockbuster she deserves after “The Banshees of Inisherin,” although her interesting individuality gets sidelined for a traditional only-in-the-movies romance with Pitt.

Without a thoroughly compelling story and racing scenes that needlessly keep themselves on cruise control, “F1: The Movie” can only be met with a polite shrug. It’s good enough to be summer escapism, and will likely have you driving home with a bit more lead in your foot. Let’s just hope that doesn’t cause as many crashes as there were in the film.

Apple Original Films will release “F1: The Movie” in theaters nationwide on June 27.

Eden Prairie resident Hunter Friesen is a film critic who owns and operates The Cinema Dispatch, a website where he writes reviews, essays, and everything in between. He currently serves as the president of the Minnesota Film Critics Association and travels the globe covering film festivals both big and small. To view his entire body of work, you can visit his website and Instagram.