Review Roundup: Formula 1 Racing Rivalry Chronicled in Ron Howard's RUSH

Two-time Academy Award winner Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind, Frost/Nixon) teams once again with two-time Academy Award-nominated writer Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon, The Queen) on Rush, a spectacular big-screen re-creation of the merciless and legendary 1970s Formula 1 rivalry between gifted English playboy James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth of The Avengers, Thor) and his disciplined Austrian opponent, Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl of Inglourious Basterds, The Bourne Ultimatum).

Set against the sexy and glamorous golden age of racing, Rush (already in theatres) portrays the exhilarating true story of the charismatic Hunt and the methodically brilliant Lauda, two of the greatest rivals the world of sports has ever witnessed. Taking us into their personal lives and clashes on and off the Grand Prix racetrack, Rush follows the two drivers as they push themselves to the breaking point of physical and psychological endurance, where there is no shortcut to victory and no margin for error.

Let's see what the critics have to say:

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: "Ron Howard's Rush is every bit as commercial as the ad-festooned cars and uniforms of the Formula One racers he's dramatizing. Yet even as he steers directly towards the multiplex, he also gives art house regulars reason to start their engines."

Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun Times: '"Rush" ranks among the best movies about auto racing ever made, featuring two great performances from the leads."

Michelle Alexandria: Eclipse Magazine: "In the early to mid 70s one of the biggest sports in the world was Formula 1 racing. At the top of the heap was the rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda. Producer, Director Ron Howard has crafted a portrait of not only the relationship between the two but what it must have been like to attend an Formula 1 Racing event in the 70s. The movie features some of the best racing scenes ever put to film but it still feels like it's lacking something."

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: "Howard creates a vividly engrossing atmosphere of suspense, both in the individual races and in the overall battle for first place on and off the track. In a way, "Rush" is a philosophical drama about the varying ways men move through the world. It's just a really fast drama."

Joel Arnold: NPR: "You might think that if the driving scenes in your auto-racing movie are the least interesting thing about it, that's a problem. But it's far from a sign of engine trouble for Rush, a swift-moving, character-rich biopic whose kinetic Grand Prix sequences are constantly being overshadowed by genuinely riveting scenes of ... people talking."

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: "For all his skill, Howard's on-screen instincts are inescapably square. It's not that he avoids the inevitable R-rated sex and drug scenes or even adult themes like the multiple dimensions, the bad and the good sides of rivalry. It's that his polished Hollywood style is not ideally suited to the edginess this story seems to cry out for."

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: "And so Rush, following the lead of Senna, Asif Kapadia's 2010 documentary about the legendary Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna, emerges as one of the great racing films ever. Why? Because as cars spin and shimmer in the rain at the climactic and astounding Grand Prix in Japan, we never lose sight of what's human and striving behind the wheel."

Alonso Duralde, The Wrap: "The film belongs to Brühl and Hemsworth, but there are some choice moments for Alexandra Maria Lara ("The Reader," "Control") and Olivia Wilde as Lauda and Hunt's respective spouses. They, too, look like they just stepped out of 1975, but lucky for them and for us, the movie offers some progressive gender politics: both of these women understand their husbands' need to cheat death on a regular basis, and neither clutches a hanky and tearfully begs their man to stay home and find a less risky line of work."

For more information visit the official RUSH web site

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