Sonny Hayes is a motorsports nomad. A ronin of the raceways. Masterless and untethered, he roams from dirt tracks to speedways chasing the thrill of the race.
He is an asphalt cowboy, with steed of carbon fiber and composites. The moment tires touch track, it is High Noon, and he is Gary Cooper.
And when he inevitably conquers his competitors, he rambles on to seek the next high-octane challenge.
That might make Sonny’s life seem a little more romantic than it really is. He lives out of a van, after all. His itinerant lifestyle prevents the sustained glory that his racing virtuosity could provide.
Most don’t understand. One crew chief muses that it must be hard for Sonny to “spend [his] whole life starting over.” But it’s a life with which Sonny is content.
Or so it seems.
An old friend, Ruben Cervantes, has tracked Sonny down. They used to race together, 30 years ago, in Formula 1 (F1)—the pinnacle of motorsport competition. It ended when a horrific crash brought Sonny’s promising F1 career to an abrupt end.
Ruben now owns his own F1 racing team, Apex Grand Prix. But it might not stay that way for long. The Apex Team is the dregs of F1. Dead last. Ruben tells Sonny that, if they can’t pick up a win this season, he will be forced to sell the team.
Ruben is desperate and offers Sonny a spot on the Apex Team. He’ll compete at the sport’s highest level again (which intrigues Sonny).
He’ll mentor Ruben’s hotshot rookie driver, Joshua Pearce (which doesn’t).
And maybe, just maybe, he’ll get a chance at an F1 victory, stolen from him all those years ago by a crash that still haunts him.
Sonny has made many mistakes in his life. But to his credit, he doesn’t shy away from acknowledging them. He moves forward and tries to do better, embracing the mantra “new day, new challenge.”
While he’s intrigued by the opportunity to get back into F1 and prove himself, he is just as invested in winning to help Ruben save the Apex Team (which includes saving the jobs of the many people Ruben employs). Sonny also cares for his teammates, including the crew and staff at Apex, building camaraderie with them. He encourages a struggling crew member. And while he’s not initially interested in mentoring the talented but inexperienced Joshua, he eventually fills that role with gusto.
For Joshua’s part, he’s being pulled in many different directions. His manager encourages him to look out for himself, considering Apex’s seemingly imminent demise. But Joshua’s commitment to the team grows, and he even turns down an attractive offer to jump ship. He also shares a close relationship with his mother, a relationship full of love, support and (when needed) correction.
Over the course of the film, Sonny and Joshua learn to work together and sacrifice personal glory for the good of the team. And the other members of Apex, including Ruben and technical chief Kate, push themselves and adapt their contributions to better serve the team.
After a crash, someone bravely pulls another driver from the flaming wreckage. A team owner refuses to let someone race in order to protect his friend. A racer gets serious about his craft and starts to shut out the distractions hurting his performance. A father lovingly interacts with his children.
Sonny kneels and bows his head next to his car a few times before a race. He and Ruben talk about needing a “miracle” to win a race. When someone credits the phrase “Hail Mary” to American football, Sonny tells him that it was originally a religious term.
Ruben jokingly refers to the “racing gods.” A character is called by the nickname “Zeus.” A large mosque is featured in one particular scene.
Sonny and Kate flirt and strike up a romance. They kiss passionately a few times. Later, it’s implied that they have had sex when Sonny wakes up next to Kate in bed. (Sheets cover them.) Though they care for each other, their relationship ends up being more of a casual fling than anything committed and lasting.
Scantily clad dancers gyrate in a Vegas nightclub. A DJ’s midriff is visible. Some women wear revealing clothes. We see a few shots of Sonny’s and Joshua’s muscular torsos as they train.
We learn that Sonny has had three failed marriages (one ended in an annulment, two in divorce). Kate is also divorced. Joshua’ s mother finds Sonny attractive, something that’s played exclusively for laughs.
The violence in F1® The Movie is almost exclusively found on the racetrack. That said, the racing scenes are incredibly visceral. Chassis shatter, tires blow and debris flies. We witness gut-clenching crashes throughout the film—one such wreck elicited audible gasps throughout my theater. Part of this reaction stemmed from the fact that the movie never lets you forget that there are people in those swerving, tumbling racecars, which makes the action feel more intense.
The wreckage of a F1 car burns with its driver still stuck inside. We see old footage of a terrible crash, both from the perspective of the driver and on a TV broadcast. We briefly see the driver lying on the track, seemingly lifeless.
A racer’s hands are burned, and he must recover in the hospital. Another driver winds up in the hospital after a gnarly crash, and we learn of the serious medical dangers if he should race again. Rivals shove each other in anger. A man shares that his father died when he was 13 years old; someone else had the same experience.
There are two uses of the f-word; another character silently (but clearly) mouths the word. More than 20 s-words are heard. God’s name is misused 10 times, frequently paired with “d—.” Jesus’ name is abused one.
Additionally, there are uses of “d—,” “h—,” “b—h,” “a–hole,” “b–tard,” “d–k” and “pr–k.” The British swear “bloody” is spoken a handful of times, along with other uses of “p-ss,” “freaking,” “screwed” and “sucked.”
Someone makes a crude hand gesture. Another person texts an emoji of that gesture.
People drink beer and liquor throughout the film. A character mentions drinking tequila. Victorious drivers pop and spray champagne bottles. A man smokes a cigarette. Someone jokingly says that his friend is “off his meds.”
In a few flashbacks, we see that one of the F1 cars features the Camel cigarette branding.
Sonny is a wily racer, but his tactics, especially early on, toe the line between clever strategy and dirty pool. We hear that he once had a gambling problem. A few characters wager money throughout the film.
Someone forges documents and submits a false claim about the Apex Team to sabotage its season. A driver continues to race, even though he risks serious health issues for doing so.
With F1® The Movie, director Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick, TRON: Legacy) has crafted a visually stunning, pulse-pounding racing film that also packs in a propulsive plot and compelling characters. And while the film doesn’t break any new ground in the well-worn sports movie genre, it delivers on the expected beats quite well. It’s a thrilling movie. Inspiring, even.
But the message presented by the end of the film left me a bit cold.
“No one drives forever.”
So says one of the characters in the film. Still, Sonny Hayes is determined to try. He’s chasing a feeling that, for him, only racing can provide. “Flying,” as he describes it. It makes him happy. He would say he needs it.
He uses that pursuit for the benefit of the Apex Team. Sonny’s drive serves as the catalyst for Apex to reach another level, as Ruben had hoped. He does a lot of good. But by the end of the film, Sonny is still chasing the same fleeting feeling that he was at the beginning. Clearly, he will never truly capture it. At least, not permanently. But the film still leaves us with the impression that, for Sonny, it’s the chase that matters. As he wistfully puts it, he has “more dragons to slay.”
It’s an interesting and potentially problematic message. While Sonny’s “new day, new challenge” mindset can be admirable, his drive to win feels more like an affliction. I couldn’t help but think about what Sonny had sacrificed to continue his solitary, self-appointed quest:
Colleagues. Friends. Love.
The film’s ending wouldn’t be out of place in an old Western. The lone gunslinger, after besting the villain and cleaning up the town, rides off into the sunset seeking more adventures and leaves behind the friends he has made.
Viewers will have to grapple with that message, alongside harsh language and some suggestive situations, and decide if F1® The Movie is a race worth the bumps in the road.
Bret loves a good story—be it a movie, show, or video game—and enjoys geeking out about things like plot and story structure. He has a blast reading and writing fiction and has penned several short stories and screenplays. He and his wife love to kayak the many beautiful Colorado lakes with their dog.
