Rush Review
By David Kempler
Racing As Formula
Besides Steven Spielberg, no one can manipulate an audience like Ron Howard. This is neither a positive nor a negative. It's just a fact. Manipulation can be useful in some cases, while at other times it doesn't work. It fails when you are conscious of being manipulated. "Rush", Ron Howard's latest, is painfully manipulative. It still succeeds as a mega-spectacle, though. This is primarily because it is based in truth and the story is pretty extraordinary.
The setting is the 1970s, specifically 1976, when Formula 1 racing was king, before NASCAR became the toast of automobile racing. Two drivers were rivals for the driving title. James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) was the dashing British playboy. Niki Lauda (Daniel
Brühl) was the dogged and methodical German. Their on-track clashes lit up the world of Formula 1 racing, pushing it to the front pages of the press.
The film opens with our foes toiling away at a lower level of car racing, but both are clearly headed to the big time. Unfortunately, this part of "Rush" does not work very well. It feels clumsy and forced and the action has not been pushed to the forefront yet, although it sure is plenty loud, especially the opening credits, which practically propelled me out of my seat. You might wish that you have those contraptions that cover the ears of the people working in the pit.
The second half of "Rush" is much more interesting. Our two main characters get a little bit fleshed out, but even then they are little more than symbols representing character traits. It is the contrast between the serious versus the frivolous. Howard tries to bring some depth to Mr. Hunt eventually, but by then it really doesn't matter. Because the action picks up noticeably and the reality of it is so compelling, there is enough to chew on.
The acting is serviceable, as is everything else. It's not that the actors do a bad job. They are okay. The problem is that they are written as cartoon characters or super-heroes. Hemsworth is given a little bit more leeway than Brühl, and in a couple of scenes it is almost compelling for a brief moment. Between the two men we have the makings of one whole man. They are symbiotic. Neither seems like they could exist without the other. While there is little of depth here, the strength of the story will probably be enough for most to not feel like they have merely watched a formula.
