Rush (2013, dir. Ron Howard) ***/****

I should start off this review by iterating the fact that I am not and never have been a fan of Formula One or any other kind of car racing.  Cars zipping around a track at 200 miles per hour continuously for 80 laps could not be more boring to me.  That being said, I liked Ron Howard's "Rush" despite its subject matter.  The car races are filmed in such a way as to garner much excitement and adrenaline-pumping visual splendour to the effect that it doesn't matter if you're a fan or not:  "Rush" transcends its subject matter.  But, such is the machinations of all Hollywood fiction films in that they can turn even the most boring pro-filmic events into something beyond our imagination and expectation.
  "Rush" tells the tale of the 1976 Formula One, year-long competition between British racer James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Austrian Niki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl).  The two men's personalities could not be different:  Hunt is a cocky, womanizing, hedonistic, throw-caution-to-the-wind, charismatic, trash-talking speedster, while Lauda is a cautious, rat-faced, technically-inclined, well-behaved racer.  The clashing personas add an interesting dynamic to the picture.  The races are all about risking your life in the pursuit of personal honour and glory.  There is a 20 percent chance of losing your life in any given race.  In certain races in the film the percentage goes up because of dangerous weather and road conditions.  At one point Lauda wants to cancel a race because of the rain and the risks involved but those in favour of going ahead with the race outnumber the ones in favour of cancelling.  So the race goes on and Lauda, in a horrific accident, almost loses his life.  He was leading the year-long competition at that time in total points and for about a month, all he can do is watch the television from his hospital bed while the physicians vacuum his filthy lungs and he recovers.
   It all comes down to the final race of the year in Japan once again in the pouring rain.  Hunt must finish third to win the championship and the actions of both men in the race are compelling.    I won't give away the end result but if you were a fan of Formula One racing in the seventies perhaps you already know.
  Some have said this is the greatest of all Sports films.  It is definitely not that but it is a good film and worth seeing.  The performances are good and the cinematography of the races are excellent and exciting to watch.  I probably still won't watch any car racing in the near future but this film has opened my eyes to the wonder and risky drama of the world of Formula one racing.