Rush

I never thought I would ever watch a Ron Howard movie again much less write a good review of one.

Howard hasn't made a movie since "Parenthood" that has not bored me to tears and almost angered me with its pedestrian refusal to take any risks. He's turned into a lesser version of Steven Spielberg -- his films are just as maudlin and emotionally manipulative, but they lack Spielberg's technical panache.

However, the great reviews of "Rush" and the awards attention that swirled briefly around Daniel Bruhl got my butt in the seat for it, and I was surprised by actually liking it. It's a lean, mean telling of the intense rivalry between race car drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda. You don't need to care much about race car driving (I certainly don't) to enjoy the story, particularly that of Lauda, who overcame a devastating accident to return to the track. Bruhl is as good as everyone said he was at the time, and Chris Hemsworth, as Hunt, is serviceable if nothing special. This is still a Ron Howard film, so don't expect it to push any boundaries, but it's much more technically daring than anything else he's made, the cinematography and editing putting the audience in the driver's seat more than once.

Grade: A-

A super cool movie Beautiful story and wonderful acting main actors

In 1976, the rivalry between two brilliant racing car drivers, the British James Hunt and the Austrian Nikki Lauda, came to a head in the almost literally life-and-death struggle of the Formula One championship. American director Ron Howard ("Apollo 13", "A Beautiful Mind", "Frost/Nixon") and British scriptwriter Peter Morgan (both play and screenplay of "Frost/Nixon") have done a terrific job bringing the titanic struggle to the big screen, aided by some excellent casting and powerful sound and cinematography. Those were the days when most years a couple of drivers would be killed, so the stakes could not be higher.

Sensibly the car racing does not over-dominate, since this is essentially a character- driven conflict, but when the racing is on screen - notably in the final race - the excitement is visceral. The Australian Chris Hemsworth (previously best known as "Thor") and the Spanish-born German Daniel Brühl ("Inglourious Basterds") are so good as the British and Austrian drivers respectively that the dialect coaches should receive a special commendation. Arguably Brühl gives the stronger performance which should auger well for his future career.

A great strength of this tale is that there is not a hero or a villain. Both drivers had privileged backgrounds and were superbly talented, but both were flawed. although in very contrasting ways, including styles of thinking, driving and womanising (Olivia Wilde as model Suzy Miller and Alexandra Maria Lara as aristocratic Marlene Knaus respectively).

I never saw the recent film "Senna" (2010) so "Rush" reminded me most of the much older "Grand Prix" (1966), but what is stunning about "Rush" is that it all happened. A season of the fastest sport in the world decided in the last race by one point - you couldn't make it up. Rush to see the movie.

As a Cineworld Card Holder I was invited to a screening last night of Ron Howards new movie Rush.

Before I start...I am not a F1 fan, but I knew enough of the history of the main protagonists to appreciate the film. The main set pieces of the film set a year before I was born in 1976, so mainly my knowledge was based on my Fathers recollection of the events. I'd seen James Hunt in interviews and recently watched footage with Niki Lauda so got an idea of the characters.

The film is bang on in period, cars fashion and sets the tone excellently, the cinematography is nothing short of breathtaking and the fx are very much in keeping with the period, no ridiculous CGI.

The acting, on the whole is nothing short of miraculous, Hemsworth and Bruhl are fantastic, particularly Hemsworth, who's accent, mannerisms and natural acting was a big surprise. I could see a few awards for this role. I have seen Bruhl in quite a few films and I am always impressed so this just continues the trend. All the support actors are very good in smaller roles.

The film is well paced for 2 hours and quite graphic, particularly a few accident scenes.

Direction: Ron Howard - nice job, I'm not a massive fan and particularly after the da vinci/Angels fiasco's a big return to decent form. The flair was there but played safe (As normal) but let the story and the actors take centre stage.

If you like History in F1, a well documented rivalry and a film that capture this, watch it. It is similar to the excellent Control, Moneyball etc but with a bit of heart.

8 1/2 out of 10

Mr. Ron Howard is a great story teller, this movie is about human nature, love and tears.

It is difficult to make a good movie about car racing, especially to make one for the time period from 1970 to 1976. I don't know how they did it to bring those old F1 cars back to life. You will feel like you are really there watching the racing, it's really unbelievable.

It is truly touching to see each character played their perfect role for this movie, Chris Hemsworth did a great performance, he is such a talented and devoted actor. Daniel Brühl also did a great job on portraying the eccentric and unsociable legendary F1 driver Niki Lauda.

A great movie is like having a great meal, a good starter, a good soup/salad, a good main course and a good dessert, well balanced. Rush is that good meal, it's a fun ride!

I have to say I really enjoyed watching this movie. Thank you Mr. Ron Howard for making this masterpiece.