Movie Review: Rush

Chris Hemsworth, Ron Howard
Ron Howard's newest, Rush, is aptly named - it goes from 0 to 100 and the pace doesn't let up until the end of the film. If you've never heard of Daniel Brühl, too, you're going to be familiar with him soon, as he's in this and The Fifth Estate, coming to theaters in October, and he did a fantastic job in this movie.

Rush is based on the true rivalry of James Hunt and Niki Lauda, Formula One race car drivers that started out in Formula Three (a lower class) together and eventually moved up. They meet at a race where James beats Niki, and Niki instantly dislikes him: he's too pretty, too cocky, and also - maybe - too good. Years later, they meet again in Formula One racing, and the rivalry continues, with Niki beating James and then James beating Niki. After a severe accident lands Niki in the hospital, James continues to win races, but about forty days later, Niki is back on the track, with the intent of beating James to reclaim his title of World Champion.

I love Chris Hemsworth as Thor and he was similar-looking in this film; and yes, before you ask, there's a shirtless scene about ten minutes into the movie. However, he was also fantastic in this movie, and the pairing of him and Brühl made for a nice rivalry. I didn't know anything about their true story until after the film, and Niki Lauda is actually still alive, and was a consultant to the movie, which I'm sure helped with accuracy. Hunt was also known for being a womanizer, which is depicted in the movie, and Hemsworth and Brühl look eerily similar to their real-life counterparts.

Yes, definitely see this film. I debated what rating I wanted to give it but it truly kept my attention the entire runtime - no easy feat, since it's 2+ hours long - and I can't think of anything that I would have changed. I also didn't know that Daniel Brühl was the main character in Good Bye Lenin! (2003), and he also had a part in Inglourious Basterds (2009); however, he looks much different in Rush. Olivia Wilde also has a small part as James Hunt's wife, although he marries her on a whim, so he can "settle down"; needless to say, the marriage does not last long.

The car scenes in this film are also awesome to behold - Ron Howard chose to film many of them in that you feel like you are on the track (first person POV) and it made the races exciting to watch. The movie focuses on the 1976 season only, but both men had careers that spanned past that year, even though James Hunt soon retired from the sport.

Rush is in theaters today, September 27th, and is rated R with a runtime of 123 minutes. 5 stars out of 5.

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