F1’s Rush called the ‘best racing film ever made’
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY's Chris Nashawaty writes, "More than in any racing movie since 1966's 'Grand Prix,' the action scenes capture the daredevil kick of sitting in the cramped, claustrophobic cockpit of a Ferrari, zipping around hairpin turns as tires squeal and engines roar" (ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY).
In Boston, Ty Burr wrote the film "unexpectedly becomes a drama of human perseverance, inspiring only because it's real." Howard in a way has "made a philosophical drama about the way men move through the world." It is "just a really, really fast drama." BOSTON GLOBE.
NBCSPORTS.com's Keith Collantine wrote, "The action is superbly realized, particularly in the case" of Lauda's crash, which is "re-enacted in terrifying detail." NBCSPORTS.com.
ESPN.com's K. Lee Davis wrote the film "soars in all the right places, makes you think in others and stands among Howard's best work — no small feat." What it also "should show fans of Formula One too young to have seen it is the transition years of the sport from daredevil death-wish status to a polished, regulated, much safer form of racing." Davis: "Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll with race cars? No. It's more than that." It is a "fabulous work of cinema," and it is "the best racing film ever made." ESPN.com
In San Jose, Tony Hicks writes, "The Oscar buzz surrounding the film is warranted." SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS.
In Denver, Lisa Kennedy writes the film "fires on all cylinders" DENVER POST.
VARIETY's Peter Debruge wrote the "thrill of 'Rush' would stall if the off-road scenes were any less dynamic, but of course, it’s the racing moments that take the film to the next level." To "witness this level of storytelling skill (applied to a subject only a fraction of the public inherently finds interesting) is to marvel at not only what cinema can do when image, sound and score are so artfully combined to suggest vicarious experience, but also to realize how far Howard has come since his directorial debut." VARIETY.com.
USA TODAY's Claudia Puig wrote the film "brilliantly captures the exhilaration that comes from facing death head-on." It also is an "ode to joyous rivalry." Puig: "This is Howard's best film" (USA TODAY, 9/20). In N.Y., Manohla Dargis wrote the relationship between Hunt and Lauda is one that screenwriter Peter Morgan "strips down to its satisfying, straightforward core." As for Howard, "Rush" feels like "the movie that he has been waiting to make his whole life." NYTIMES.com.
MCCLATCHY's Roger Moore wrote, "If there's a fault to it, it might be that racing fans get little sense of the violently varied racecourses." As much as the film "makes the races cinematic, the filmmakers are hard-pressed to improve on the in-your-face grit and gravel of Fox TV’s outstanding NASCAR coverage." But "Rush" is a "fine and fun film tribute to the milieu, the men, women and machines in a sport that was never deadlier or more glamorous than during its disco-decade incarnation" MCCLATCHY.
In Pittsburgh, Barbara Vancheri writes "Rush" is so solidly entertaining that it can make someone who is clueless about racing care" PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE.
In Chicago, Richard Roeper gave the film four stars SUNTIMES.com. In Minneapolis, Colin Covert gave the film three and a half out of a possible four stars Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. The AP's Jake Coyle gave the film an A- (AP, 9/27). In Cleveland, Clint O'Connor gave the film a B+ Cleveland PLAIN DEALER. In K.C., Jon Niccum gave the film three-and-a half stars K.C. STAR
Reviews compiled by SportsBusiness Daily