For the past decade, I've approached Ron Howard's films with a mix of trepidation and outright dread. Apollo 13 is an amazing piece of filmmaking, but from there, he's seemed content to play it safe to the point of inertia. A Beautiful Mind may be daring in its direction, but its story is worthy of a TV movie. Considering the horrors of the Robert Langdon movies, the unwatchable Oscar-bait Cinderella Man, and the low-ball The Dilemma, my skepticism towards his latest picture, Rush, was more than warranted. Thankfully, Howard seems to be alive again as he goes full throttle on taking the viewer inside the world of Formula 1 racing. More importantly, he has a worthwhile story at the center. While Howard still feels the need to spoon-feed the themes, the strong performances and intensity of the racing scenes make his latest picture a ride worth taking. The story centers on the rivalry between Formula 1 racers Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl) and James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth). Both men come from privileged backgrounds, and these cushy comforts cause them to rebel and test their mettle in the dangerous world of F1 racing. Their beginnings also coincide as they both push to make the leap from Formula 3 racing up to F1 through their financial power rather than competing through the ranks. But once at the F1 level, their rivalry intensifies due in part to their drastically different personalities—the pragmatic, calculating Lauda could not be further from the adrenaline-fueled, arrogant playboy Hunt. However, ...
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