Just got back from seeing it and I'm still all bouncy! Wrote up my initial thoughts about it :-) I will admit some bias. I love racing and love speed and I'm quite lucky I haven't gotten a ticket on my motorcycle yet lol so the racing scenes might have held my interest more then some but even as a girl who likes that kind of stuff, the rest of the movie was equally fantastic. If you like history, speed, adrenaline and a great story you'll love the movie.
RUSH
I walked into the theater with expectations, with bias. I expected Rush to be the typical Hollywood racing/action movie with drugs, police chases, lewd humor and over the top personalities.
I. Was. So. Wrong.
Right from the beginning, RUSH has a compelling story that immediately both captured and held all of my attention. The two racers that are the focal point of the movie are James Hunt and Niki Lauda, two famous formula one racers from the 1970's.
James Hunt is portrayed by Chris Hemsworth (The Avengers) and does an amazing job of playing the hot headed sexy playboy. His character shows so many aspects of his personality, from his personal life, to his party and racing life. Niki Lauda is portrayed by Daniel Brühl (Inglorious Bastards) and he showcases perfectly Lauda's impersonal, cerebral take on racing as well as his upbringing and personal life.
The movie takes you into their lives, giving you a real sense of what drove them to be so competitive as well as covering many interesting and not well known aspects of how a racing team is put together. However, that is only part of the appeal of Rush.
The action got my heart pumping, the racing scenes were by no means just silly little cars going around in circles. The danger of every corner could be felt in the shaky cam, the close frontal view from the car and details like the close ups of road and tire conditions. Also, the sound of the gears shifting and the roar of the engine really brought home how small those cars are and how close to the ground the drivers are. During several scenes I felt a very tangible, visceral fear.
I spent the entire movie at the edge of my seat avidly watching the racing action and thoroughly enjoying the experience of learning all about these two enigmatic racers. The speed, the amazing history, the politics, the rivalry, all created a riveting story that left me, and an entire theater of moviegoers, clapping at the end...somethin
g you don’t often see in theaters anymore and a resounding accolade to a really well written and exciting film.
