Edd Straw was part of a selected audience who were able to watch F1: The Movie ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix. Warning: The following review may contain some spoilers.
>To review F1: The Movie requires a Formula 1 journalist to switch between two hats. One, that of a big, big cinema lover, the other of an F1 paddock-dweller. What’s surprising is that the latter is better served than the former.

>The first part of the film succeeds impressively. Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) is introduced elegantly, and he’s soon leaping behind the wheel for a crucial night stint in the Daytona 24 Hours that’s every bit the visceral assault on the senses that the filmmakers promised. They even pull off the implausible F1 comeback of Hayes after 30 years away convincingly enough, within the bounds of the necessary suspension of disbelief required to watch any movie.

>What follows doesn’t live up to the strong start. Although the worst cliches of racing movies are avoided, there’s no magical extra throttle travel for when things get serious or nonsensical extra gears for example, the on-track scenes sometimes become too chaotic as the movie progresses.