Ron Howard does it again. While they can't all be hits, the only other two guys in Hollywood that consistently deliver like him are John Lassiter and Steven Spielberg. Rush is exciting, compelling, and a lot of fun.
Rush is the story of the rivalry between two Formula One drivers, Englishman James Hunt, played by Chris Hemsworth, and Niki Lauda, played by Daniel Brühl. It takes place during the 1976 Grand Prix season. These two men were bitter rivals up to this point, but the 1976 season brought it to a head. Hunt, a devil-may-care thrill seeker and all around mimbo, is dangerously inconsistent, not too smart, but great driver. Lauda, an Austrian, is his polar opposite, intelligent, methodical and careful and not very amiable. Together their rivalry electrified the world in the 1976 Grand Prix, which culminated in a horrific crash halfway though that almost killed Lauda. Yet he pulled through and was able to make the last race.
Now, if you are doing a movie about Formula One racing, you have to show races, and boy, are there a lot. Howard knows how to choreograph great action scenes, and the racing is phenomenal. But the heart of all Ron Howard pictures are interesting people, and this movie is no exception. The problem is that the characters are not particularly likable, and this is why I took off half a star. Hunt, while his bacchanalian lifestyle is the envy of most men (racing fast cars, partying like there is no tomorrow, and does not meet a woman who will not go to bed with him in a moment), is incapable of caring about anyone other than himself. He is just not a very good person. He may be fun, but in the end, not a reliable friend at all. Lauda, on the other hand, is cold, precise and has the intensity of a laser to the exclusion of all else. He is supremely confident past the point of arrogance in his ability (and rightly so, he was the Grand Prix champion for four years), and really does not care what others think of him. He does not care who he slights or what feelings he hurts. Yet these men form a rivalry, and a friendship of sorts, based on mutual respect, both of whom respect very little. What is interesting is that Lauda, during his honeymoon, says that happiness is an enemy because you then have something to lose. But after his crash, he grows as a person realizing he does have something to live for in the end. This is the movie's key redeeming feature and makes it a cut above the rest. In the end, we must see growth, some change, a character arc. We get this with Lauda's story, and it makes for a satisfying movie experience. While these men are not exactly role models to emulate, we can learn from them, and that is what great entertainment does.
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