Yesterday, for the first time since before the pandemic, I went to a movie in a theater. My brother Phil and I went to see F1 in all its IMAX glory.
My brother’s even older than I am, although he looks younger. The theater management must have spotted my receding, gray hair when I walked in and assumed that I was having hearing difficulties, because they absolutely cranked the volume as soon as the previews started.
F1, I guess, would be considered an “action” movie, so the previews we got were “similar” films: a couple of horror flicks, the new Superman offering and a couple of other superhero movies—basically nothing I would ever have any interest in seeing. But each preview seemed to last about 10 minutes (in reality, probably just 3 or 4 minutes each) and was packed with explosions and shocks and just about anything that they could exaggerate with a huge amplified sound. It sounded like Ground Zero in an artillery battle, and it made me never want to step inside a theater again.
The movie itself also had some loud moments, of course, but they weren’t as concentrated—nor as loud, I think—as the previews had been.
As for the movie itself, we both really enjoyed it. There were of course parts of it that were farfetched if you follow Formula 1, but those parts were much less numerous than I expected for a major Hollywood production. There were also a lot of things in there that would only be appreciated by F1 fans, and they gave the whole movie a lot more legitimacy. Some of the sport’s iconic tracks were well-represented, and the on-screen racing action was intense and realistic. Many current drivers and team leaders gave cameos. The movie all but ignored the qualifying aspect of every F1 weekend, which I think is one of the most exciting elements of the sport, but I get it: to explain how qualifying works would take up too much screen time in a movie that was already 150 minutes long.
All in all, it was really enjoyable. But next time I go to a movie theater, I’ll maybe take some ear protection.
