by Josh Sewell
F1
(Rated PG-13 for strong language and action. Opens in theaters on June 27.)
Considering this weekend’s fun, but by-the-numbers racing flick F1 is directed and co-written by filmmaker Joseph Kosinski, it’s no surprise that it’s essentially a remake of his last movie, Top Gun: Maverick. The biggest difference? Viewers get to experience Brad Pitt driving fast cars for two-and-a-half hours instead of Tom Cruise flying fighter jets.
On paper, it makes sense: Maverick grossed $1.5 billion worldwide, so Apple and Warner Bros. probably figured “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” In execution, however, F1 feels like something we’ve seen a million times before, only sleeker and with more cash to spend on expensive song rights. (To be honest, if you told me the screenplay began life as a Maverick-style sequel to Cruise’s 1990 racing flick Days of Thunder, I’d believe you.)
Most movie fans can guess the plot without breaking a sweat. Pitt plays Sonny Hayes, a once-promising Formula 1 competitor felled by a catastrophic accident that almost killed him. Three decades later, he’s technically homeless and racing for hire when his old pal Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), owner of a failing team, begs him to help save the season.
However, Sonny is facing a skeptical crew who doesn’t want some new guy coming in to change their methods at the last minute. That includes hotshot rookie Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), already trying to establish himself in the racing world without being in someone else’s shadow.
I’ll say this for F1 – it’s a gorgeous movie. The budget is reportedly north of $300 million, and you can see almost every bit of it onscreen. That’s what happens when you hire one of the world’s biggest movie stars, custom build a fleet of cars and shoot during actual races all around the world.
Pitt and Bardem show off their usual charisma, while Idris (best known for the FX drama Snowfall) stakes his claim as an actor to keep your eye on. I totally get why he’s rumored to be Marvel’s choice for the new Black Panther. Kerry Condon and Sarah Niles are also solid, but they can’t do much to elevate their clichéd roles of girlfriend and mother, respectively.
The racing scenes are genuinely thrilling thanks to Kosinski’s innovative shooting techniques. He places remote-controlled cameras in each car to show that Pitt and Idris are actually driving, while also demonstrating to viewers how fast and dangerous these vehicles can be.
However, the middle section drags a bit because the characters’ personal lives aren’t nearly as compelling as their day jobs. In all honesty, Kosinski could’ve probably trimmed a half-hour from the running time without issue. Nevertheless, F1 makes for a solid entry in the summer movie season, evoking the fun, disposable sports dramas of the ’90s.
Grade: B
M3GAN 2.0
(Rated PG-13 for strong violent content, bloody images, some strong language, sexual material, and brief drug references. Opens in theaters on June 27.)
I enjoyed 2023’s M3GAN, a horror comedy about a killer AI robot whose premise was basically, “what if Chucky looked like Regina George from Mean Girls?” Most of the flick’s campy fun came from screenwriter Akela Cooper, so I was excited to see what kind of outrageous scenarios she’d concoct for the sequel.
Unfortunately, she only gets a story credit for M3GAN 2.0, which likely explains the follow-up’s massive change in tone and genre. Instead, returning director Gerald Johnstone tackles the screenplay solo; in doing so, he jettisons the horror elements, cranks up the dial on camp and throws the characters into a pure sci-fi action story. It’s basically girlboss Terminator 2.
The story catches up with our protagonists two years after M3GAN went on a killing spree to “protect” Cady (Violet McGraw), the little girl she belonged to. Now Gemma (Allison Williams), Cady’s aunt and the toy’s creator, is a high-profile author and advocate for government oversight of AI.
The two are thrown back into danger when a slimy defense contractor steals Gemma’s old tech to create a spy/weapon known as Amelia (Ivanna Sakhno), which immediately goes rogue and threatens to destroy humanity. The only way to defeat this new enemy is to resurrect and upgrade M3GAN (Amie Donald, voiced by Jenna Davis).
Although M3GAN 2.0 isn’t scary in the slightest, it’s still fun to watch in a theater packed with like-minded fans. Williams knows exactly what kind of movie she’s in, modulating her performance without winking at the camera or going too far over the top. The tone is a delicate tightrope walk, but she makes it work. The tradeoff is that McGraw doesn’t get quite as much to do this time around, but she still has a few good moments.
Horror fans might be disappointed, but at least the flick lets you know early on what it has transformed into. But my favorite moment, which I wouldn’t dare spoil, comes during the lengthy final battle. You’ll definitely know when it hits – I haven’t heard an audience laugh that hard in a long time.
Grade: B-
Home Entertainment Spotlight
Eephus
(Not rated but contains strong language. Now available on Blu-ray, DVD and VOD.)
This indie drama centers on two rec baseball teams in New England who’ve been playing on Sunday afternoons for longer than anyone can remember. After the county board votes to bulldoze the field to build a school, the middle-aged guys meet for one last game. Bonus features on the Blu-ray edition include a filmmaker commentary with director Carson Lund, co-writer/producer Mike Basta and director of photography Greg Tango; a cast commentary; behind-the-scenes camcorder video; deleted scenes; bloopers; storyboards; an essay by Caden Mark Gardner; two director Q&A sessions; and a pickup baseball game at East River Park in New York City.
(Rated PG-13 for strong language and action. Opens in theaters on June 27.)
Considering this weekend’s fun, but by-the-numbers racing flick F1 is directed and co-written by filmmaker Joseph Kosinski, it’s no surprise that it’s essentially a remake of his last movie, Top Gun: Maverick. The biggest difference? Viewers get to experience Brad Pitt driving fast cars for two-and-a-half hours instead of Tom Cruise flying fighter jets.
On paper, it makes sense: Maverick grossed $1.5 billion worldwide, so Apple and Warner Bros. probably figured “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” In execution, however, F1 feels like something we’ve seen a million times before, only sleeker and with more cash to spend on expensive song rights. (To be honest, if you told me the screenplay began life as a Maverick-style sequel to Cruise’s 1990 racing flick Days of Thunder, I’d believe you.)
Most movie fans can guess the plot without breaking a sweat. Pitt plays Sonny Hayes, a once-promising Formula 1 competitor felled by a catastrophic accident that almost killed him. Three decades later, he’s technically homeless and racing for hire when his old pal Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), owner of a failing team, begs him to help save the season.
However, Sonny is facing a skeptical crew who doesn’t want some new guy coming in to change their methods at the last minute. That includes hotshot rookie Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), already trying to establish himself in the racing world without being in someone else’s shadow.
I’ll say this for F1 – it’s a gorgeous movie. The budget is reportedly north of $300 million, and you can see almost every bit of it onscreen. That’s what happens when you hire one of the world’s biggest movie stars, custom build a fleet of cars and shoot during actual races all around the world.
Pitt and Bardem show off their usual charisma, while Idris (best known for the FX drama Snowfall) stakes his claim as an actor to keep your eye on. I totally get why he’s rumored to be Marvel’s choice for the new Black Panther. Kerry Condon and Sarah Niles are also solid, but they can’t do much to elevate their clichéd roles of girlfriend and mother, respectively.
The racing scenes are genuinely thrilling thanks to Kosinski’s innovative shooting techniques. He places remote-controlled cameras in each car to show that Pitt and Idris are actually driving, while also demonstrating to viewers how fast and dangerous these vehicles can be.
However, the middle section drags a bit because the characters’ personal lives aren’t nearly as compelling as their day jobs. In all honesty, Kosinski could’ve probably trimmed a half-hour from the running time without issue. Nevertheless, F1 makes for a solid entry in the summer movie season, evoking the fun, disposable sports dramas of the ’90s.
Grade: B
(Rated PG-13 for strong violent content, bloody images, some strong language, sexual material, and brief drug references. Opens in theaters on June 27.)
I enjoyed 2023’s M3GAN, a horror comedy about a killer AI robot whose premise was basically, “what if Chucky looked like Regina George from Mean Girls?” Most of the flick’s campy fun came from screenwriter Akela Cooper, so I was excited to see what kind of outrageous scenarios she’d concoct for the sequel.
Unfortunately, she only gets a story credit for M3GAN 2.0, which likely explains the follow-up’s massive change in tone and genre. Instead, returning director Gerald Johnstone tackles the screenplay solo; in doing so, he jettisons the horror elements, cranks up the dial on camp and throws the characters into a pure sci-fi action story. It’s basically girlboss Terminator 2.
The story catches up with our protagonists two years after M3GAN went on a killing spree to “protect” Cady (Violet McGraw), the little girl she belonged to. Now Gemma (Allison Williams), Cady’s aunt and the toy’s creator, is a high-profile author and advocate for government oversight of AI.
The two are thrown back into danger when a slimy defense contractor steals Gemma’s old tech to create a spy/weapon known as Amelia (Ivanna Sakhno), which immediately goes rogue and threatens to destroy humanity. The only way to defeat this new enemy is to resurrect and upgrade M3GAN (Amie Donald, voiced by Jenna Davis).
Although M3GAN 2.0 isn’t scary in the slightest, it’s still fun to watch in a theater packed with like-minded fans. Williams knows exactly what kind of movie she’s in, modulating her performance without winking at the camera or going too far over the top. The tone is a delicate tightrope walk, but she makes it work. The tradeoff is that McGraw doesn’t get quite as much to do this time around, but she still has a few good moments.
Horror fans might be disappointed, but at least the flick lets you know early on what it has transformed into. But my favorite moment, which I wouldn’t dare spoil, comes during the lengthy final battle. You’ll definitely know when it hits – I haven’t heard an audience laugh that hard in a long time.
Grade: B-
Home Entertainment Spotlight
(Not rated but contains strong language. Now available on Blu-ray, DVD and VOD.)
This indie drama centers on two rec baseball teams in New England who’ve been playing on Sunday afternoons for longer than anyone can remember. After the county board votes to bulldoze the field to build a school, the middle-aged guys meet for one last game. Bonus features on the Blu-ray edition include a filmmaker commentary with director Carson Lund, co-writer/producer Mike Basta and director of photography Greg Tango; a cast commentary; behind-the-scenes camcorder video; deleted scenes; bloopers; storyboards; an essay by Caden Mark Gardner; two director Q&A sessions; and a pickup baseball game at East River Park in New York City.
Reach out to Josh Sewell at joshsewell81@gmail.com or on BlueSky @joshsewell.bsky.social
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