F1 Rotten Tomatoes Score Shifts Gears For Brad Pitt After 6-Year Slump(Photo Credit –YouTube)
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Brad Pitt’s highly ambitious F1: The Movie has completed its first loop ahead of the upcoming premiere, with its review embargo now lifted. The movie is directed by Joseph Kosinski, famed for Top Gun: Maverick, who styled this Formula 1 sports flick in a similar point-of-view canvas.
At last, F1 has faced its first set of movie critics, and its Rotten Tomatoes score is out. But how has it performed compared to other recent films starring the Troy actor, his Interview with the Vampire rival Tom Cruise, and, more importantly, other racing dramas?
Critics Have Found F1 Formulaic, But in a Pleasant Way
F1: The Movie has been welcomed by critics warmly but not as energetically as one might expect. On Rotten Tomatoes, it currently holds an 84% certified fresh rating based on 58 critics’ reviews.
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The verdict is somewhat impressive, but also raises some concerns considering how the expectations had been skyrocketing for a while. Moreover, the bar among racing dramas is much higher, and critics have flagged F1 as formulaic, a distinction some potential viewers are likely to find off-putting.
How F1 Compares to Brad Pitt Movies and Recent Action Flicks
The Rotten Tomatoes score of F1: The Movie beats Brad Pitt’s recent entries such as Wolfs (67%), Bullet Train (53%), and Babylon (57%), thus occasioning his return to certified fresh territory post-pandemic. The last time one of his films was so well-received at the hands of critics was six years ago in 2019, when his portrayal of Cliff Booth in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (86%) and his role in Ad Astra (83%) garnered acclaim.
However, F1’s Rotten Tomatoes verdict is significantly lower than Kosinski’s Top Gun: Maverick (96%) starring Tom Cruise, which remains one of the best-received films in the review aggregator site’s history. Speaking of Cruise, F1 surprisingly holds nearly identical reviews to the fellow summer actioner Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning, which also struck a chord with 80% of critics on Rotten Tomatoes. The latter also garnered a score of 67 on Metacritic, compared to F1’s 69.
Where Does F1 Lie in the Race Against Ford v Ferrari and Other Racing Movies?
Among racing movies, though, F1: The Movie holds a middling position. 2019’s Ford v Ferrari rules supreme in the subgenre with a 92% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while the Chris Hemsworth-led Rush follows it with 88%. Nevertheless, F1 outperforms more recent genre entries such as Gran Turismo (65%) and Michael Mann’s Ferrari (72%).
Rotten Tomatoes Summary
Ford v Ferrari- 92%
Rush- 88%
F1: The Movie- 84%
Ferrari- 72%
Yet, with its release approaching, the bigger concern lies at the box office. According to Deadline, F1: The Movie carries an estimated budget of $200 million, making it one of the most expensive films of Pitt’s career. The question remains whether F1 will speed past that hefty investment or crash at the box office race.
