Brad Pitt plays an aging racer trying to prove he still has what it takes to be a Formula 1 driver. The action plays out at 230 mph in F1, a movie coming this summer from Apple Original Films. A trailer that dropped Monday blends blazing-fast cars on the racetrack with clashing personalities off the track.
F1 is the latest attempt from Apple to make a blockbuster film. Like Brad Pitt’s character in the movie, it seems a bit of a long shot.
Get ready for Brad Pitt in blazing-fast racing action in F1
In the upcoming F1 movie, Brad Pitt is Sonny Hayes, who was a Formula 1 driver in the 1990s before his career got sidelined after a crash, earning him the nickname “the greatest that never was.” Thirty years later, he’s a nomadic racer-for-hire when he’s approached by his former teammate Ruben Cervantes (played by Javier Bardem), owner of a struggling Formula 1 team. Sonny gets hired to save the team… and take another shot at being the best in the world.
But there’s more to winning in Formula 1 than driving. Sonny faces off against the team’s hotshot rookie, Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris). The competition between the two is the centerpiece of the trailer for F1 released Monday.
Plus, the film promises to be visually stunning, especially as it was filmed during actual races and is “immersed in the exhilarating and cinematic world of F1,” according to Warner Bros.
Apple’s first blockbuster movie?
Apple negotiated for months to ink a deal for the rights to the potential blockbuster, which will be distributed in theaters in June by Warner Bros.
But there’s cause of pessimism. Apple Original Films has never had a massive hit. Take Wolfs starring Brad Pitt and George Clooney. Last summer, it went straight to the Apple TV+ streaming service after Apple decided at the last minute not to put the film in theaters. It didn’t make a big splash.
To be clear, some Apple productions have earned plenty of awards. CODA got the Best Picture Oscar and plenty more, for example, but it took in a minuscule $2 million at the box office.
Apple clearly hopes F1 will instead be a blockbuster movie with huge ticket sales. The trailer shows it has the potential, combining star power with an exciting premise — but the same was true for Wolfs and it went nowhere. So the film’s plot mirrors real life in that it gives Brad Pitt, at 61 years old, a chance to prove that he still has what it takes to headline a major success.
Apple’s F1 movie in theaters this summer
F1 hits theaters on June 27. It’ll surely reach the Apple TV+ streaming service months later.
That said, much of the excitement of the racing sequences will be lost on a small screen. This seems the sort of movie that needs a giant theater screen to fully appreciate.
