The 'sports movie' tends to be a
troubled genre; one usually marred by predictability and all too
willing to eschew the human spirit behind the sport. Such is not the
case in Ron Howard's Rush, which takes us inside the world of
1970s Forumla One racing for a look at a legendary rivalry bewteen
two champion motorists. The film is less interested in impressing us
with their achievements, as it is in discovering what drives the
drivers.
One is James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth);
with his roguish good looks, cocky charm and playboy antics, he seems
the spitting tabloid image of a stereotypical racing superstar. It
helps that he has the God-given skill and renegade aggression behind
the wheel to back up his boasts in front of a microphone. The other
is Nikki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl); more prickly and misanthropic, but
with a sharply analytical mind that serves him remarkably well in the
garage and on the pavement.
