“Rush” races to award season
“Rush” was just that, a rush from start to finish. Director Ron Howard truly delivered with his cinematic mastery.
“Rush” details the events of the 1975 and 1976 Formula One racing seasons and within that, the major rivalry between British racer James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth, known to most as Thor) and Austrian racer Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl, a relatively unknown German actor).
FAST FACTS: Peter Morgan wrote “Rush” on speculation (With no one lined up to buy it). Chris Hemsworth dropped 30 pounds to go from Thor to James Hunt.
Hunt, a pretty boy, prefers to spend his time partying rather than training. Despite his lack of hard training, Hunt has a natural raw talent. This coupled with his reckless nature on the track and an unending drive to win, makes him a formidable opponent.
Lauda prefers to spend his time on the track and in the garage making sure his car is at the top of its condition for each race. He is cold and calculating and considers racing a job not a sport.
“Rush” takes you through the 1976 Formula One season where Hunt is trying to steal the championship from Lauda after his narrow defeat by Lauda in the ’75 season. Ron Howard spends a large amount of time introducing the major players in his film, but this was not boring or wasteful in the slightest due to the inter cut facets of each person and the perfect balance of action in the form of racing.
The time spent introducing the characters also allows one to invest in each of them and begin to care about what happens to them as they fly around curved tracks at 200 miles per hour. The racing scenes in this movie can be compared to no others. The camera work and the shot selection was phenomenal.
“Rush” was one of those movies that just has to be seen in theaters to get the full experience. In the theater you can feel the concussion of the sound of the engines starting and see the bright colors of the cars as they speed past you.If you want to see it, go soon, you will not be disappointed.
Ron Howard and “Rush” truly deserve the praise and Oscar buzz that they have been getting.
