F1: The Movie (2025)

Direction: Joseph Kosinski
Country: USA 

Directed by Joseph Kosinski (Oblivion, 2013; Top Gun: Maverick, 2022) from a screenplay by Ehren Kruger, and co-produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, British F1 pilot Lewis Hamilton, and Brad Pitt—who stars as fictional pilot Sonny Hayes—F1: The Movie blends thrilling races, bland romance, overdramatic celebrations, and crooked deals. 

There’s nothing particularly new or noteworthy in this ultra-formulaic car action flick that goes nowhere fast. We follow fearless yet reckless veteran driver Sonny Hayes (Pitt), a gambling addict, as he joins a nearly bankrupt team at the invitation of owner and former teammate Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem). Sonny quickly challenges everyone—“Who’s fighting? I’m racing!”—including his new teammate, the prodigiously talented rookie Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), who becomes his chief rival.

While some racing scenes do deliver the adrenaline, the narrative rarely hits top gear, as the script struggles to make its dramatic beats land. This monstrous commercial blockbuster has a vigorous start, ultimately running out of gas and disintegrating into uneven pieces. The soundtrack by Hans Zimmer—a combination of classical and electronic elements—didn’t convince, contributing to the film’s general stodginess.

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Direction: Joseph Kosinski 
Country: USA

The return of Top Gun, again with the forever-young Tom Cruise at the center, takes a coherent, sober treatment in the hands of director Joseph Kosinski (Only the Brave, 2017; Oblivion, 2013). Dedicated to the late Tony Scott, who directed the original in 1986, this sequel replaces Kelly McGinnis with Jennifer Connelly as the new love interest of Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Cruise), a subversive US Navy ace pilot who is told to teach and prepare 12 Top Guns graduates for a nearly impossible special mission.

All skillful pilots show absolute respect for what he is and what he has achieved, but one of them, Lieutenant Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw (Miles Teller), expresses resentment about a situation from the past. He is the son of Maverick’s deceased best friend, Goose, who was played by Anthony Edwards in the first installment. 

Even not hitting a single beat you don't expect, the film is actually well-paced, fun to watch, and genuinely tense at times. It packs heart and visual flair within a good old fashioned storytelling that often feels nostalgic. It might be schematic and simplistic in its dramatic framework but the action is bracing and it never shortchanges the human scale or the heroic scope.

Kosinski, who understood how to equalize the romance, the drama and the action in the film, is not interested in dazzling us with mind bending ideas or twisty plots. Instead, he sticks with a stylistically coherence that becomes all the more powerful as the film advances. CGI technology was refused in order to deliver the most authentic experience possible, and the spectacular aerial maneuvers of the third act are breathtaking. Top Gun: Maverick is high quality Hollywood entertainment for all generations.