Ashdoc's movie review---Rush

Rush...of adrenaline.....

And also....rush of emotion....!!

Yes , this film based on formula one racing not only delivers the rush of adrenaline that films about car racing are supposed to deliver , but surprisingly also builds an emotional core around the story.....
.....And by doing so , it makes it stand above ordinary films the way other racing films cannot do....

It's about the real life rivalry of two formula one racers of the seventies---James Hunt and Niki Lauda , both great in their own ways....

But it's not just about the racing feats of the two greats , but also about their personal lives , their wives and girlfriends and their unique personalities and their habits . And it's also how their different personalities make their approach to the sport different .

Both are people who have chosen to walk off the beaten path , because the profession they are in always brings them perilously close to danger if not death . But both are as different from each other as chalk is from cheese .

James Hunt is the flamboyant Englishman---tall and blonde and handsome with flowing hair and an electric charm which works wonders on women . Also he is hard drinking and hard partying and with a devil may care attitude to take risks .

Niki Lauda is the dour Austrian---serious and hard calculating and not so goodlooking to say the best about his looks . Also having a thoughtful and methodical approach to his racing . So Germanic....

And their women...??

Though James Hunt has a wife , in his life women always come and go....
Naturally , his wife divorces him . But all of them , the wife or the other women---all are stunners....

On the other hand , Niki Lauda stays loyal to one woman , and she to him---through thick and thin....

So who is the hero of the film ??
From the start of the film , it's clear that it's James who has the personality of the hero . You might as well change his surname from Hunt to Bond....

But this film ain't no spy thriller....
It changes gear as Niki Lauda suffers a major racing accident that threatens his life and career . And as you see his pain and his brave struggle to get back to the racing track , you cant but help empathize with him . You watch with emotion , his suffering and his permanent facial disfigurement and the painful medical procedures he has to go through and the bleeding and brush with death . And you just keep watching his wife's face and her sorrow and the way Niki watches James racing on television while he is undergoing painful treatment....
And all the while Niki is hoping that one day he will race again against James , and race to win....

And so when the two rivals are pitted against each other in the 1976 championship , it's hard not to sympathize with Niki Lauda and secretly hope that he would win---the man who has gone through so much....

But this is a real life story....
And real life is not always about poetic justice....

So who wins in the end ??
Watch the movie for that....

The director makes both look good in the end---so good that the audience gave a round of applause when the movie ended....
They both look good because they had a healthy regard for each other , or so the director shows---maybe he takes some cinematic liberty....

The seventies era has been well recreated , and you really feel that you are in those times....

The races are heart pounding stuff , and the car racers are shown as men who want to achieve fame by sparring grittily with death . Photography is good and keeps your pulse bounding during the races .

But the film is about the men behind the machines , and the director's real triumph has been to flesh out their persona and their drive for success .

Verdict---Good .

sounds good, will watch it.