by R.C. Samo
Editor-in-Chief
Every critic that loves a racing movie will always use cliche terms like, “High Octane”, “Hugging the Curves with every turn”, “You feel like you’re in the Drivers Seat!” Hey, I did it too with the title of “Crosses the Finish Line.”
At its core, Rush is not about racing. It is about living to be the best. It is a rivalry between two very distinct personalities on the opposite end of the pendulum who strive to be world champions in one of the world’s most dangerous sports. James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth), a fast living, pretty boy Englishman and Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl), a cool, meticulous, Austrian who calculates risk down to the smallest percentage.
These two men, drove each other to the brink of madness as they aspired to being the best on the racetrack. This type of rivalry produces champions, Hunt and Lauda were living proof, that a rivalry could drive one to success, become better than they had ever hoped and even though they did not like each other, they respected one another.
Ron Howard was able to capture that rivalry like no other. This is hands-down his best film since Apollo 13. Not since Days of Thunder, has a racing movie inspired someone to jump into their car and eagerly await to be pulled over for speeding.
Writer, Peter Morgan, captures the casual fan’s perspective, with having Hunt say how people would view driving around in circles as foolish, but the true test is not driving, it is being so close to death that you finally feel alive.
Brühl can do no wrong. Since my introduction to him in Goodbye Lenin, I have tried to watch every single one of his films. The Spanish/German actor have a scene in a film where he is filing papers and it would be enthralling. Hemsworth, is beyond amazing, from space captain to a thunder god and now a race car driver; he just keeps getting better with every role.
The supporting cast of Olivia Wilde, Alexandra Maria Lara and Pierfrancesco Favino add so much realism to the film that it feels you are watching Hunt and Lauda act out their own lives on camera instead of being portrayed by such a flawless cast.
Rush would have been lost in the summer blockbusters, but is the perfect fall film. It is gritty, honest, passionate, driven and raw.
Rush opens in Los Angeles and New York on September 20, 2013 and nationwide September 27, 2013.
