rush 2013 movie reviews rotten tomatoes

RUSH Review

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

October Will Bring Great News for Jason Statham Fans

The 10 best christopher walken movies, ranked, 10 terrible horror movies saved by one great performance.

For the past decade, I've approached Ron Howard 's films with a mix of trepidation and outright dread. Apollo 13 is an amazing piece of filmmaking, but from there, he's seemed content to play it safe to the point of inertia. A Beautiful Mind may be daring in its direction, but its story is worthy of a TV movie. Considering the horrors of the Robert Langdon movies, the unwatchable Oscar-bait Cinderella Man , and the low-ball The Dilemma , my skepticism towards his latest picture, Rush , was more than warranted. Thankfully, Howard seems to be alive again as he goes full throttle on taking the viewer inside the world of Formula 1 racing. More importantly, he has a worthwhile story at the center. While Howard still feels the need to spoon-feed the themes, the strong performances and intensity of the racing scenes make his latest picture a ride worth taking.

The story centers on the rivalry between Formula 1 racers Niki Lauda ( Daniel Brühl ) and James Hunt ( Chris Hemsworth ). Both men come from privileged backgrounds, and these cushy comforts cause them to rebel and test their mettle in the dangerous world of F1 racing. Their beginnings also coincide as they both push to make the leap from Formula 3 racing up to F1 through their financial power rather than competing through the ranks. But once at the F1 level, their rivalry intensifies due in part to their drastically different personalities—the pragmatic, calculating Lauda could not be further from the adrenaline-fueled, arrogant playboy Hunt. However, as their rivalry heats up, it begins to bring out their best and worst qualities.

Since Lauda and Hunt don't start competing in earnest until they're in F1, the movie is a bit slow to start because it's not all that interesting to see guys use financial maneuvers instead of showing their skill behind the wheel. Thankfully, the pacing allows Brühl and Hemsworth to bring some texture to their characters if not shading. The film is about a clash of clearly defined personalities, and the uptight, austere Lauda makes a good foil for the freewheeling Hunt. Personally, I found Lauda a bit more compelling since he has a direct passion for racing while Hunt is looking for thrills, and F1 just happens to be a way he can get them. "It's a coffin on top of a bomb," Hunt tells his future wife, Suzy Miller ( Olivia Wilde ) He still cares about the art of racing (there's a great scene where he's "practicing" by visualizing each turn and moving his feet and arms in response), but the sharp, exacting Lauda is a bit funnier in his inability to have fun.

Once the racing begins, Howard demonstrates the technical attention to detail that helped make Apollo 13 so wonderful. It's difficult to find new ways to shoot racing, but cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle gets some amazing shots, and editors Daniel P. Hanley and Mike Hill edit them together to create an exhilarating experience on the track. Furthermore, Howard slowly ramps up the intensity of each race, so we're on the edge of our seats by the time Lauda and Hunt are swerving around on a rain-drenched track. The director has made us buy into their rivalry and the sport to where we don't think it's silly for them to risk their lives over a trophy. It makes perfect sense.

It's crucial that we care about the men behind the wheel, and all of the characters besides Lauda and Hunt end up being window dressing. Wilde is absolutely wasted in her brief role, and while that character does illustrate Hunt's personality, it's strange to cast a recognizable face for such a minor part. The expert piece of casting is Brühl. He's still a stranger to most audiences even though he had a supporting role in Inglourious Basterds . In a leading part, Brühl's is a scene stealer. Hemsworth is good, but Hunt is almost a variation on Thor. It's a swaggering, entitled guy who's out to win glory but learns to grow up. Meanwhile, Brühl successfully navigates his way through a character who's always serious, but sometimes that seriousness can get some big deadpan laughs.

The two actors are at their best when sharing the screen. Together, their characters' rivalry truly comes alive rather than just bitching behind each other's back. But Howard falters by not trusting his audience to glean the importance of their rivalry and rivalries in general. Rush is not a complex film, and the message is readily apparent, but Howard still feels the need to have his characters spell it out. It reduces the character-driven narrative to a showcase of fast cars and a lesson.

Even when Rush reaches this low, it's easily Howard's best film in years. There's a fire to the picture that's been absent from his work for far too long. Howard's passion for the story comes alive through the devotion of his lead actors and the intensity of the racing scenes. There's no need to spell out why having a rival is different than having an enemy. The definition becomes more than clear in the conflict between Lauda and Hunt. Thankfully, Rush never gets too hung up on imparting lessons to its audience. The primary focus is putting two intriguing figures inside a couple of coffin-bombs, and letting us feel the heat and respect the speed.

Entertainment

Rush (I) (2013)

User Reviews

Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews

User Ratings
External Reviews
Metacritic Reviews
Full Cast and Crew
Release Dates
Official Sites
Company Credits
Filming & Production
Technical Specs
Plot Summary
Plot Keywords
Parents Guide

Did You Know?

Crazy Credits
Alternate Versions
Connections
Soundtracks

Photo & Video

Photo Gallery
Trailers and Videos

Review by Brian Eggert September 28, 2013

Ron Howard returns to the shaggy hair and muted visual palette of the 1970s with Rush , a drama about the rivalry between Formula One racers James Hunt and Niki Lauda during the 1976 racing season. Howard already explored this era to expert effect in Frost/Nixon , his cinematographer’s grainy visuals occupying the look of the time; and what’s more, he explored car chases in Grand Theft Auto , the director’s sophomore effort back in 1977. Reteaming with Frost/Nixon screenwriter Peter Morgan, Howard’s production channels similar racing films such as John Frankenheimer’s outstanding Grand Prix (1966) or Tony Scott’s not-so-great Days of Thunder (1990), except Rush is less about the races themselves than the drivers who risk their melodramatic personal lives through their often self-destructive need-for-speed.

Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl’s performances as the speedsters are the primary reason to see the film, playing, respectively, British party animal James Hunt and the misanthropic Austrian, Niki Lauda. Both actors fully embody their roles (though Hemsworth’s bombastitude does contain shades of his turn as the Norse God of Thunder in Thor ). Hunt lives on the edge, filling his downtime with countless women and substances. Somewhat embarrassing are scenes where Hunt loses himself in drink when he’s unable to find “a drive,” the editing filled with choppy clips of Hemsworth stumbling around, snorting cocaine, downing another mouthful of booze. He’s readily aware that his “closeness to death” is his appeal, and he embraces that quality to the fullest. Hemsworth’s charm and chummy smile serve him well in the role. Conversely, Brühl, best known for Inglourious Basterds , has the more complicated role. Lauda’s more of a purist, designing his own car to exact specifications and abstaining from all distractions to focus on the race. He’s determined and unflinching, and he doesn’t care if he’s liked by anyone. On the track, it’s a battle of philosophies: Hunt’s raw talent and instinct vs. Lauda’s meticulousness.

Morgan’s script spends less time on the competition and races than it does exploring the personal lives of its two central characters, so Rush isn’t merely a sports movie but an adult drama. And an R-rated one at that. Remaining steadfast in his vision, Howard has admirably left in swearing and nudity that could have easily been cut to gain a more commercially viable PG-13 rating. We must respect Howard for not selling out like so many other filmmakers as of late. But the story’s jealous concentration on Hunt and Lauda doesn’t allow for any supporting characters to become more than one-note filler, and this includes their eventual wives. The characters’ trajectories are such that Hunt finds himself married, albeit briefly, to dull model Suzy Miller (Olivia Wilde), while Lauda questions his desire to race after he meets Marlene (Alexandra Maria Lara).

As the story unfolds, Lauda, a banker’s son, moves up from F3 to F1 by buying his spot on the Ferrari team, whereas the less reliable Hunt must beg his way onto McLaren. Their ongoing opposition comes with plenty of insults, Hunt calling the rodent-faced Lauda his “ratty little friend” and Lauda cutting deeper by attacking his opponent’s rocky personal life. The story jumps around with the ever-winning Lauda in the lead and Hunt a close second, hurrying past the year’s early races in Sao Paulo, South Africa, or Spain. But things slow down during the fateful Nürburgring, Germany race that lands Lauda in a devastating, fiery crash, after which he’s left gorily scorched and hospitalized (shown in grisly detail). Yet he’s determined to race again before the season ends. For many unfamiliar with the real-life ending (myself included), the scenes leading up to and including the final showdown will contain an added thrill, as we’re unaware of the documented outcome.

For the small percentage of the audience with previous knowledge of Hunt and Lauda’s competition, there’s at least Howard’s technically proficient staging of the race scenes—although his frequent use of slow-motion during the rainy races in Germany and Japan makes the film look like a Mountain Dew commercial at times. Nevertheless, pit crew banter reminds us how F1 racing in the 1970s involved drivers sitting atop what ostensibly is a fragile bomb running at 450 horsepower. At any moment, a car could easily spin out of control and shatter or explode, costing the life of whoever’s behind the wheel. What other sport averages two competitors dead each year? Still, because Howard spends less time on driving than he does exploring the racers’ lives, we’re never quite involved in edge-of-your-seat suspense during the races. Of course, we want to know who wins, but the filmmaking lacks the adrenaline rush suggested by the title.

Rush is a capably made picture about a pair of enemies who, predictably, realize they need and feed off each other through healthy competition. Many of Howard’s choices are equally obvious, such as his uses of Steve Winwood’s “Gimmie Some Lovin” and David Bowie’s “Fame” on the soundtrack, which make the film seem like a movie trailer. For a better balance between involving races and the off-track melodrama of F1 drivers, see Frankenheimer’s aforementioned three-hour epic Grand Prix , which Howard has openly admitted was his inspiration here. Frankenheimer’s film dwells on the races and uses early in-car camerawork to transform what is essentially a boring, monotonous competition that just goes round and round into a dramatic, exhilarating stage for the off-track drama. Whereas Frankenheimer found an equilibrium between his drivers’ complicated lives and their races, Howards’ film is unbalanced, leaving the races feeling secondary and even incidental next to the rivalry between Hunt and Lauda.

Related Titles

In Theaters

Recent Reviews

Speak No Evil 3 Stars ☆ ☆ ☆
Patreon Exclusive: The Front Room 3 Stars ☆ ☆ ☆
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice 2 Stars ☆ ☆
Close Your Eyes 4 Stars ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Look Into My Eyes 2.5 Stars ☆ ☆ ☆
AfrAId 1.5 Stars ☆ ☆
Patreon Exclusive: Rope 3 Stars ☆ ☆ ☆
Good One 4 Stars ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Strange Darling 3 Stars ☆ ☆ ☆
Blink Twice 3 Stars ☆ ☆ ☆
Alien: Romulus 2.5 Stars ☆ ☆ ☆
Skincare 3 Stars ☆ ☆ ☆
Sing Sing 3.5 Stars ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Borderlands 1.5 Stars ☆ ☆
Dìdi 3 Stars ☆ ☆ ☆

Screen Rant

123 minutes

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

Universal Pictures

123 minutes

Reviews (0)

Have You Watched It?

Be the first to leave your review.

Your Rating

Chris hemsworth, olivia wilde, alexandra maria lara, daniel brühl, pierfrancesco favino, screenrant review, 'rush' review.

Rush excels in its exploration of the Hunt and Lauda relationship as well as how the iconic rivalry helped shaped each racer - both on and off the track.

Latest Reviews

Latest stories, 10 best movies about auto racing, according to rotten tomatoes, 10 best sports movies like rush, 10 best movies & tv shows with antony starr (ranked by imdb), chris hemsworth’s 10 best movies (according to metacritic), the 5 most (& 5 least) accurate sports movies, ranked, extraction: 5 reasons it's chris hemsworth's best non-marvel movie (& 5 why it's rush), ford v ferrari: 8 reasons it's better than rush (and 7 reasons why rush is better), rush season 2 updates: is the show returning, related titles.

eternal sunshine of the spotless mind

BABY REINDEER

Your comment has not been saved

Have you watched it?

Be the first to leave a community review!

Universal Pictures

Summary Set against the glamorous golden age of Formula 1 racing in the 1970s, Rush tells the true story of the great rivalry between handsome English playboy James Hunt and his methodical, brilliant opponent, Austrian driver Niki Lauda. The story chronicles their distinctly different personal styles on and off the track, their loves and the ast ... Read More

Directed By : Ron Howard

Written By : Peter Morgan

Where to Watch

Daniel Brühl

Chris hemsworth, olivia wilde, suzy miller, alexandra maria lara, marlene lauda, pierfrancesco favino, clay regazzoni, david calder, louis stanley, natalie dormer, nurse gemma, stephen mangan, alastair caldwell, christian mckay, lord hesketh, alistair petrie, stirling moss, julian rhind-tutt, anthony 'bubbles' horsley, colin stinton, teddy mayer, jamie de courcey, harvey 'doc' postlethwaite, augusto dallara, enzo ferrari, ilario calvo, luca di montezemolo, patrick baladi, vincent riotta, lauda's mechanic, martin savage, mclaren mechanic, jamie sives, brm mechanic, simon taylor, english race announcer, critic reviews.

All Reviews
Positive Reviews
Mixed Reviews
Negative Reviews

User Reviews

Related movies, seven samurai, the wild bunch, north by northwest, crouching tiger, hidden dragon, the lord of the rings: the return of the king, the french connection, the lord of the rings: the fellowship of the ring, mad max: fury road, the incredibles, star wars: episode iv - a new hope, house of flying daggers, assault on precinct 13, the hidden fortress, gangs of wasseypur, captain blood, related news.

2024 Movie Release Calendar

Jason dietz.

Find a schedule of release dates for every movie coming to theaters, VOD, and streaming throughout 2024 and beyond, updated daily.

September 2024 Movie Preview

Keith kimbell.

Get details on this month's most notable new films including a long-awaited Beetlejuice sequel, Francis Ford Coppola's controversial passion project, and much more.

DVD/Blu-ray Releases: New & Upcoming

Find a list of new movie and TV releases on DVD and Blu-ray (updated weekly) as well as a calendar of upcoming releases on home video.

Every Alien Movie, Ranked

We rank every film in the Alien franchise, from the 1979 original to the new Alien: Romulus, from worst to best by Metascore.

Every Movie Based on a Videogame, Ranked

We rank every live-action film adapted from a video game—dating from 1993's Super Mario Bros. to this month's new Borderlands—from worst to best according to their Metascores.

The Hollywood Outsider – Film and Television Podcast | Reviews An award-winning film and television podcast for the fan in all of us

Rush (2013) Movie Review

Aaron B. Peterson September 27, 2013

Formula 1 racing was reaching its apex of popularity in the 1970’s. Following suit in that era was the emerging rivalry between its 2 greatest competitors, Niki Lauda and James Hunt. The story that emerged between these 2 rivals is the basis for Ron Howard’s ‘Rush’.

Niki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl) takes a level-headed, numbers approach to his racing. He sees everything in terms of percentages and probabilities, refusing to take chances and instead focusing on vehicle high-performance and his astute intellect to take him to the finish line. He also refuses to play politics and alienates himself to his peers with his matter-of-factness.

James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth), on the other hand, is a charismatic hotshot living each day as if it is his last. Endless parties, loves and bottles dictate his approach to racing, for in Hunt’s mind: Every race could be his last. James is everyone’s friend, yet lacks the maturity and grace to garner sponsorship when he desperately needs it.

As Niki calculates his way into Formula 1 racing, Hunt follows. Niki quickly becomes the leader, pushing Hunt to drive harder to not only become the World Champion, but also to finally put Niki in his place. When a horrific accident takes Niki out of the car, he must fight to get back on the track before Hunt can solidify his impending World Champion title.

Chris Hemsworth may be the most charming actor working today. Watching him on screen as Hunt reminds me of a young Tom Cruise taking off to flight school as Maverick. All cocky assuredness and confidence, yet an underlying acting talent that waits to strike when you least expect it. He has moments of doubt, despair and rage that he has been unable to share in past roles and finally relishes the chance to showcase them here. Thor may be his signature mainstream role, but Rush is the film that will put him on directors’ must-have lists.

Daniel Bruhl, probably best known as Melanie Laurent’s admirer Frederick Zoller in Inglorious Basterds, has a difficult role. Lauda is simply not a likeable guy. He weighs all things on percentages and statistics, including friendships and even his marriage. Yet, he manages to do so with a quiet dignity with which you can still respect him, even if you would never want to grab a drink with him. His narration is a little suspect and hokey at times, which is the only real critique in an otherwise solid performance.

There are other performances in the film, most notably Olivia Wilde and Alexandra Maria Lara as Hunt and Lauda’s wives, but not a one of them receives any worthy screen time. The film is about the sport and these two men, and the focus remains solely on them for the duration of the runtime.

The one selling point to the film is that it is not so much a racing film, as it is a drama about two competitors coming to a mutual respect for each other and that is a testament to the direction of Ron Howard. Racing, in any form, is not a sport I personally enjoy. Howard directs the film with such quick intensity and focus that it is hard to watch it and not get a little excited for all of that endless zipping around.

The structure of the film does feel a bit, to borrow its title, rushed. However, that is because of how the events played out in actuality. The film adheres to the facts for the duration of the film and moves at an almost lighting pace, as if it were in a race itself.

Overall, Rush is a solid character drama with enough excitement to win over almost any non-racing admirer. Hemsworth and Bruhl both sell you on these two men and their budding respect with nuanced performances and Ron Howard returns to the top of his form with direction that propels the story without slowing down for every minute detail. Rush is definitely worth the ride.

If $10 is the full price of admission, Rush is worth $7.50.

Aaron Peterson

The Hollywood Outsider

www.TheHollywoodOutsider.com

Tags chris hemsworth cinema daniel bruhl drama entertainment film formula hollywood james hunt movie niki lauda olivia wilde outsider podcast racing review ron howard rush

About Aaron B. Peterson

Supported by

Movie Review

Collision Course, as Rivals Follow Their Drives

Share full article

By Manohla Dargis

Sept. 19, 2013

Several times in “Rush,” Ron Howard’s excitingly torqued movie set in the Formula One race world, the camera gets so close to a driver’s eye that you can see each trembling lash. It’s a startlingly beautiful but also naked image, partly because there’s no hiding for an actor when the camera gets that close. In moments like these, you’re no longer watching a performance with its layers of art and technique: you’ve crossed the border between fiction and documentary to go eye to eye with another person’s nervous system. Mr. Howard doesn’t just want you to crawl inside a Formula One racecar, he also wants you to crawl inside its driver’s head.

Specifically, he wants to get inside those of James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl), Formula One titans and rivals, who, in 1976, helped push the sport into mainstream consciousness. (Well, at least in much of the rest of the world: Formula One has long struggled in the United States.) In 1976, when both men were in their late 20s, they raced after each other while chasing the world championship over wet, dry and terrifyingly gnarly tracks. Tucked, very much alone, into open-wheel machines that could easily have become coffins, Hunt and Lauda cut corners and grazed death lap after lap — whooshing over racetracks , city streets and deceptively pastoral roads into the sort of sports legend that translates only occasionally into good cinema.

Built for speed on and off the track, Hunt was the pretty one, a tall, blond, British playboy who transcended his middle-class background to become racing royalty, the King James of newspaper headlines. Born into a wealthy Austrian family, the shorter, slighter and darker Lauda was, by contrast, cruelly nicknamed the Rat because of his pronounced overbite. (The Beaver would have been a more apt handle.) Hunt partied hard — archival photographs inevitably show him bookended by women, his gaze nestled in their décolletage — while Lauda assumed the role of the frosty, teetotaling tactician. They were an ideally matched, telegenic, salable pair — the heartthrob and the master gearhead — whose differences in and out of their cars put a playful, at times anguished human face onto a sports story.

It’s one that the screenwriter Peter Morgan strips down to its satisfying, straightforward core. There are all sorts of narratives that could be spun out of Formula One, including how lives were sacrificed for profit. (In 1994, Ayrton Senna became the last driver to die in a Grand Prix.) It’s hard to believe, though, that even a down-and-dirty exposé would be a fraction as entertaining as “Rush,” which distills the thrill of racing into a clash of personalities, one nail-biting face-off, a catastrophic accident and a wild comeback. Enzo Ferrari , the Ferrari founder (who was called the Saturn, or devourer of his children, because of the fatalities during his tenure), might have been more important to Formula One than any driver, but romances like “Rush” don’t belong to the owners: they belong to the workers, the grim ones and the smiling ones, the ones with the death wish and the ones with the gushers of Champagne.

Shortly after the movie opens, Hunt is walking barefoot into a hospital, bleeding from the nose while still in his racing suit. He’s a ravishing mess, and his effect on the room, which goes immediately silent, is unmistakably erotic. “Hunt, James Hunt,” he announces, echoing a familiar line. Before long, a nurse is at once dressing his wound and undressing the rest of him, a seduction that’s as much about the audience’s pleasure as that of the characters on screen. Best known for playing the comic-book hero Thor, Mr. Hemsworth is prettier than the all-too-real man he plays in “Rush.” Yet this surplus of beauty works for the role because the actor, who holds the screen with the unconscious physical confidence of the truly lovely, looks like the star that James Hunt became.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber? Log in .

Want all of The Times? Subscribe .

Rush (2013 film)

2013 biographical sports film directed by Ron Howard From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rush is a 2013 biographical sports film centred on the rivalry between two Formula One drivers , Briton James Hunt and the Austrian Niki Lauda , [12] during the 1976 motor-racing season . It was written by Peter Morgan , directed by Ron Howard and stars Chris Hemsworth as Hunt and Daniel Brühl as Lauda. The film premiered in London on 2 September 2013 and was shown at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival [13] [14] before its United Kingdom release on 13 September 2013. [15] The film received positive reviews from critics for Hemsworth and Brühl's performances, Howard's direction, the racing sequences, and Hans Zimmer 's musical score.

Rush

Directed by
Written by
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography
Edited by
Music by

Distributed by	(United States) (United Kingdom) (Germany)
	September 2013 (2013-09-02) (London) September 2013 (2013-09-13) (United Kingdom) September 2013 (2013-09-20) (United States) October 2013 (2013-10-03) (Germany)
	123 minutes
Countries
Languages	English
Budget	$38 million
Box office	$98.2 million

James Hunt , a brash and self-confident individual, and Niki Lauda , a cool and calculating technical genius who relies on practice and precision, are exceptional racing car drivers who develop a fierce rivalry in 1970 at a Formula Three race in London, when both their cars spin before Hunt wins the race. Lauda takes a large bank loan from Austria's Raiffeisen Bank to buy his way into the BRM Formula One team, meeting teammate Clay Regazzoni for the first time.

Meanwhile, Hesketh Racing , the fledgling racing team Hunt drives for, enters Formula One. Lauda then joins Scuderia Ferrari with Regazzoni and wins his first championship in 1975 . Hesketh closes down after failing to secure a sponsor, but Hunt joins the McLaren team. During this time, Hunt marries supermodel Suzy Miller , while Lauda develops a relationship with socialite Marlene Knaus.

The 1976 season starts with Lauda dominating the first two races while Hunt struggles to catch up. Hunt wins the Spanish Grand Prix , but is disqualified after a post-race inspection results in a ruling that the width of his car was greater than permitted. Struggling to comply with F1 rules, McLaren suffers a series of racing setbacks, and Hunt's situation is further exacerbated when Suzy starts a relationship with actor Richard Burton .

Following his divorce, Hunt regains his competitive spirit and, when his disqualification in Spain is overturned, the restored points put him into championship contention. Lauda marries Marlene in a private ceremony but begins to have concerns about the effects of his newfound happiness, worrying that he has become vulnerable as a racer, as he now has something to lose.

On the day of the German Grand Prix , Lauda calls a drivers' meeting, urging the F1 committee to cancel the race due to heavy rain on the notoriously dangerous Nürburgring Nordschleife ; the vote goes against cancellation after Hunt argues that Lauda is trying to personally benefit in competition by reducing the number of remaining races at a time where Lauda already has a significant points lead towards the season's championship.

Most drivers start the race with wet weather tyres, which becomes a costly tactic due to most of the track quickly drying. They all change tyres during the second lap, pushing Hunt ahead of Lauda; the latter's attempts to catch up result in a suspension arm in his Ferrari breaking, causing a loss of control and crash of the car into an embankment where it bursts into flames. Lauda is airlifted to hospital with third-degree burns to his head and face and internal burns to his lungs. For six weeks, Lauda is treated for his injuries while he watches Hunt - who is otherwise guilt-ridden by Lauda's condition - dominate the races in his absence. Despite his doctor's orders, he decides to return to drive his Ferrari at the Italian Grand Prix , finishing fourth while Hunt fails to finish.

The 1976 season comes to a climax at the rain-soaked Japanese Grand Prix . Hunt's late rally in Lauda's absence has pulled him within three points of Lauda. Hunt argues that the race should be canceled, but since the television rights were sold everywhere around the world, the Grand Prix still takes place. At the end of the second lap, after his car has slid several times, Lauda returns to the pits and decides to retire from the race, considering it too dangerous and opting to stay with Marlene instead. This allows Hunt to win the championship if he can finish third or better. After facing stiff competition under grueling conditions, tyre problems, and a hand injury due to the gear shifter knob breaking, Hunt finishes third, winning the championship by a single point.

Hunt spends the rest of the year reveling in fame, sex, and drugs, while Lauda takes an interest in flying private planes. At a private airfield in Bologna , Lauda suggests to Hunt that he focus on the next racing season to defend his title, but Hunt argues that his glamorous lifestyle is the highlight of being world champion; Lauda realises that Hunt no longer feels he needs to prove himself to anyone.

In voiceover, Lauda reflects on how Hunt's continued hedonism led to limited future success and his eventual death at age 45, but also on how their great rivalry and personality differences spurred each other on that one season, and states that Hunt was the only person he ever envied.

Chris Hemsworth as James Hunt , a British F1 driver who races for McLaren
Daniel Brühl as Niki Lauda , an Austrian F1 driver and Hunt's main rival who races for Scuderia Ferrari
Olivia Wilde as Suzy Miller , Hunt's wife
Alexandra Maria Lara as Marlene Lauda, Niki Lauda's wife
Pierfrancesco Favino as Clay Regazzoni , Niki Lauda's teammate
David Calder as Louis Stanley , chairman of BRM
Natalie Dormer as Nurse Gemma, a nurse who checks Hunt's injuries and is one of Hunt's girlfriends
Stephen Mangan as Alastair Caldwell
Christian McKay as Lord Hesketh
Alistair Petrie as Stirling Moss
Colin Stinton as Teddy Mayer
Julian Rhind-Tutt as Anthony 'Bubbles' Horsley

Hunt and Lauda appear as themselves, in the 1970s and 1980s, in archive footage at the end of the film, while Lauda is then seen for a few seconds in contemporary (2013) footage.

The film was shot on location in the United Kingdom, Germany and Austria. [16] Blackbushe Airport in Hampshire, the Snetterton ( Norfolk ), Cadwell Park ( Lincolnshire ), the former Crystal Palace [17] and Brands Hatch ( Kent ) [18] motor racing circuits in Britain, and at the Nürburgring in Germany. [19] Both vintage racing cars and replicas were used in the filming. [ citation needed ]

The financiers include Hürth -based action concept Film- und Stuntproduktion, Egoli Tossell Film, Revolution Films (GB), and Cross Creek Pictures (US). The Film- und Medienstiftung NRW funded the film with €1.35 million, additional funding was provided by MFG Filmförderung Baden-Württemberg and the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF). [20]

Director Ron Howard originally intended for Russell Crowe to make a cameo appearance as Richard Burton for a brief scene where he confronts James Hunt on his affair with Suzy. [21] [22]

The film's orchestral score was composed by Hans Zimmer . [23] The soundtrack includes 1970s rock music by Dave Edmunds , Steve Winwood (originally performed and written by the Spencer Davis Group ), Mud , Thin Lizzy and David Bowie . [24]

Some things in the film are exaggerated (like the Hunt–Lauda rivalry ; in reality they had shared a flat early in their careers and were good friends), others downplayed (like Lauda's wife's shock at his disfigurement), and others invented (like Hunt beating up a reporter or the Nürburgring nickname being "the graveyard"; in fact Jackie Stewart had nicknamed it "the Green Hell"). [25] [26] [27] Other inaccuracies include the British F3 battle at Crystal Palace , which in reality was between Hunt and Dave Morgan , and Hunt's overtake on Regazzoni for 3rd place in the Japanese Grand Prix when in the actual race he passed Alan Jones . Another error in the Japanese Grand Prix is that Regazzoni and Laffite finished fourth and fifth, while in the actual race, it was Jones and Regazzoni who finished fourth and fifth. In the end scene, an incident is described where Hunt, while being a TV broadcaster, comes to a meet-up with Lauda on a bicycle with a flat tire. In reality, this incident happened while Hunt ran out of money and fell into alcohol addiction. On this day Lauda gave him money to rebuild his life. Hunt, after Lauda gave him money a second time, fixed his life and got a job as a television broadcaster. [28]

The culmination of the 1975 Championship is depicted, 38 minutes into the picture, as occurring at the US Grand Prix. [ citation needed ] Lauda is shown in a wheel-to-wheel dice with Hunt’s Hesketh 308B. In reality, the title was decided in Lauda’s favour at the previous race, in Italy, and the two drivers were never together on track at Watkins Glen. [ citation needed ] Lauda won that race from start to finish, whilst Hunt trailed in fourth, driving the new Hesketh 308C. [ citation needed ]

In reality, Hunt was disqualified post-race from 1976 British Grand Prix (despite winning on the road) for receiving outside assistance.

BBC Two aired the documentary Hunt vs. Lauda: F1's Greatest Racing Rivals , on 14 July 2013. The documentary provides an extensive look at the rivalry between Hunt and Lauda, featuring interviews with Lauda and former crew members of the McLaren and Ferrari teams. [29] [30]

The Ferrari & the Cinema Society jointly organised a screening of the film at Chelsea Clearview Cinemas in New York on 18 September 2013. Chris Hemsworth attended the screening. [31]

Rush was a box office success. It earned $26.9 million in domestic box office and $71.3 million in international box office for a worldwide gross of $98.2 million against an estimated budget of $38 million. [11]

Critical reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , the film holds an approval rating of 88% based on 238 reviews with an average rating of 7.5/10. The website’s critical consensus reads, "A sleek, slick, well-oiled machine, Rush is a finely crafted sports drama with exhilarating race sequences and strong performances from Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl." [3] Another review aggregator, Metacritic , which assigns a normalised rating to reviews, calculated an average score of 74 out of 100, based on 43 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [32] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. [33]

When Niki Lauda first saw the pre-screening of the unedited footage, he considered himself to be portrayed too negatively. This changed on the day of the first screening when Bernie Ecclestone told him how much he liked it. [28] Lauda was pleased with the overall look of the film. He was quoted as saying: "When I saw it the first time I was impressed. There was no Hollywood changes or things changed a little bit Hollywood-like. It is very accurate. And this really surprised me very positively". [21]

Rush was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 28 January 2014. A Sainsbury's exclusive edition with a bonus disc of new special features was released for a limited time. The Australian Blu-ray release is bundled with the 2013 documentary 1 . [34]

Awards
Award	Category	Recipients and nominees	Result
			Nominated
			Nominated
			Nominated
		,	Won
		Danny Hambrook, Frank Kruse, Markus Stemler	Nominated
	Best Film Editing	Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill	Won
			Nominated
		Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill	Nominated
			Nominated
		Daniel Brühl	Nominated
			Nominated
		Daniel Brühl	Nominated
			Nominated
		Daniel Brühl	Nominated
Phoenix Film Critics Society	Best Film Editing	Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill	Nominated
		Daniel Brühl	Nominated
	Best Score		Nominated
	Virtuoso Award	Daniel Brühl	Won
			Nominated
			Nominated
		Antoine Moulineau, Jody Johnson, Mark Hodgkins	Nominated
		Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill	Nominated
		Danny Hambrook, Frank Kruse, Markus Stemler	Nominated
		Mark Digby, Patrick Rolfe	Nominated
		Julian Day	Nominated
		Daniel Brühl	Nominated
			Nominated
	Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture	Jody Johnson, Moriah Etherington-Sparks, Mark Hodgkins, Antoine Moulineau	Nominated
		Daniel Brühl	Nominated
	Best Editing	Dan Hanley, Mike Hill	Nominated

Hunt–Lauda rivalry
[N 1] There is some disagreement regarding the country of origin of Rush and this is a weighted listing of the sources. Andrew Eaton, one of the film's producers, calls it a British film, but also indicates it is an "Anglo-German co-production," [4] while another source lists only Germany. [5] Another source lists both Great Britain and the US, [6] [7] while others list all three countries. [8] [9]
[2] "Rush — Alles für den Sieg" . Kino Zeit . Retrieved 15 September 2021 .
[3] "Rush (2013)" . Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved 7 January 2022 .
[4] Andrew Eaton (16 December 2016). "Why being British is no longer a handicap when it comes to films" . The Guardian . Retrieved 13 August 2014 .
[5] "Rush (2013)" . TCM . Retrieved 13 August 2014 .
[6] "Rush" . AFI . Retrieved 13 August 2014 .
[7] "Rush (2013)" . AllMovie . Retrieved 18 August 2014 .
[8] "Rush (2013)" . BFI . Archived from the original on 9 August 2014 . Retrieved 13 August 2014 .
[9] "Rush" . LUMIERE: Data base on admissions of films released in Europe . Retrieved 13 August 2014 .
[10] "Rush" . British Board of Film Classification . Retrieved 3 March 2022 .
[11] " Rush (2013)" . The Numbers . Retrieved 10 January 2016 .
[12] "Niki Lauda on Rush, James Hunt and the crash that changed his life" . telegraph.co.uk . Archived from the original on 12 January 2022 . Retrieved 4 August 2018 .
[13] "Toronto film festival 2013: the full line-up" . The Guardian . London. 23 July 2013 . Retrieved 24 July 2013 .
[14] Evans, Ian (2013), "Rush TIFF premiere photos" , DigitalHit.com
[15] "Rush Movie Official UK Site for the Rush Film In Cinemas 13th September" . Archived from the original on 3 November 2013 . Retrieved 19 September 2013 .
[16] "Rush - Official Movie Site - 2013" . Retrieved 26 June 2012 .
[17] "Film London" . filmlondon.org.uk . Archived from the original on 30 June 2017 . Retrieved 3 October 2014 .
[18] Kent Film Office (8 September 2013). "Kent Film Office Rush Film Focus" .
[19] "Hollywood director gets a real Rush filming at Cadwell" . Horncastle News . Johnston Publishing. 11 May 2012 . Retrieved 11 May 2012 .
[20] "Premiere on Saturday in Cologne: "Rush" " . Film und Media Stiftung NRW. 30 September 2013. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013 . Retrieved 5 December 2013 .
[21] " Rush True Story vs. Movie" . History vs. Hollywood . Retrieved 26 September 2013 .
[22] Fleming, Mike Jr. (4 October 2011). "Olivia Wilde Lands 'Rush' Role Of Suzy Miller; Russell Crowe For Richard Burton Cameo?" . Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved 26 September 2013 .
[23] Rosen, Christopher (16 September 2013). "Hans Zimmer On His 'Rush' Soundtrack, Oscar Nominations & 'Man Of Steel 2' " . The Huffington Post . Retrieved 22 September 2013 .
[24] Jagernauth, Kevin (28 August 2013). "Watch: New Clip From 'Rush' Plus Details On The Soundtrack Which Includes David Bowie, Thin Lizzy & Hans Zimmer" . IndieWire . Archived from the original on 27 September 2013 . Retrieved 22 September 2013 .
[25] von Tunzelmann, Alex (18 September 2013). "Rush: a thrilling but untrusty ride" . The Guardian . Retrieved 10 January 2014 .
[26] Wybrew, Ally. "Rush Vs. Real Life: Where Fact Meets Fiction" . www.empireonline.com . Empire. Archived from the original on 22 September 2013 . Retrieved 10 January 2014 .
[27] Williams, Richard (6 September 2013). "Rush's soap washes away subtleties of James Hunt and Niki Lauda" . The Guardian . Retrieved 10 January 2014 .
[28] Bensinger, Graham . "Niki Lauda" . In Depth with Graham Bensinger . Retrieved 26 May 2019 .
[29] " Hunt vs. Lauda: F1's Greatest Racing Rivals " . BBC . Retrieved 22 September 2013 .
[30] Davies, Serena (14 July 2013). "Hunt vs Lauda: F1's Greatest Racing Rivals, BBC Two, review" . The Telegraph . London. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022 . Retrieved 22 September 2013 .
[31] Smarp. "Chris Hemsworth in Chelsea Clearview Cinema, New York, NY, USA" . Archived from the original on 27 September 2013 . Retrieved 24 September 2013 .
[32] "Rush Reviews" . Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved 15 May 2020 .
[33] "Home" . Cinemascore . Retrieved 25 February 2022 .
[34] "Rush / 1: Double Pack Blu-ray" . Blu-ray.com . Retrieved 18 May 2016 .
[35] Kemp, Stuart (13 December 2013). " 'American Hustle' Dominates Australian Academy's International Award Noms" . The Hollywood Reporter . Prometheus Global Media . Retrieved 1 January 2014 .
[36] Reynolds, Simon; Harris, Jamie (8 January 2014). "BAFTA Film Awards 2014 - nominations in full" . Digital Spy . Retrieved 8 January 2014 .
[37] "Bafta Film Awards 2014: Full list of winners" . BBC . 16 February 2014 . Retrieved 9 March 2014 .
[38] "Complete list of nominees for the 19th Critics' Choice Movie Awards" . Los Angeles Times . 16 December 2013 . Retrieved 6 July 2019 .
[39] "movie news: 19th Jameson Empire Awards Nominations Announced" . average film reviews. 24 February 2014 . Retrieved 17 March 2014 .
[40] "Golden Globes Nominations: The Full List" . Variety . 11 January 2014 . Retrieved 10 March 2014 .
[41] "Golden Globe Awards Winners" . Variety . 12 January 2014 . Retrieved 10 March 2014 .
[42] "12th Annual VES Awards" . visual effects society . Retrieved 3 January 2018 .
Rush at IMDb

Wikiwand in your browser!

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.

Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.

Wikiwand for Chrome

Wikiwand for Firefox

Historical accuracy

External links.

Rush (2013 film)

Rush

Directed by
Written by
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography
Edited by
Music by

Distributed by	(United States) (United Kingdom) (Germany)
	September 2013 (2013-09-02)(London) September 2013 (2013-09-13)(United Kingdom) September 2013 (2013-09-20)(United States) October 2013 (2013-10-03)(Germany)
	123 minutes
Countries
Languages	English
Budget	$38 million
Box office	$98.2 million

Historical accuracy

Critical reception, external links.

Chris Hemsworth as James Hunt , a British F1 driver who races for McLaren
Daniel Brühl as Niki Lauda , an Austrian F1 driver and Hunt's main rival who races for Scuderia Ferrari
Olivia Wilde as Suzy Miller , Hunt's wife
Alexandra Maria Lara as Marlene Lauda, Niki Lauda's wife
Pierfrancesco Favino as Clay Regazzoni , Niki Lauda's teammate
David Calder as Louis Stanley , chairman of BRM
Natalie Dormer as Nurse Gemma, a nurse who checks Hunt's injuries and is one of Hunt's girlfriends
Stephen Mangan as Alastair Caldwell
Christian McKay as Lord Hesketh
Alistair Petrie as Stirling Moss
Colin Stinton as Teddy Mayer
Julian Rhind-Tutt as Anthony 'Bubbles' Horsley

Hunt and Lauda appear as themselves, in the 1970s and 1980s, in archive footage at the end of the film, while Lauda is then seen for a few seconds in contemporary (2013) footage.

Director Ron Howard originally intended for Russell Crowe to make a cameo appearance as Richard Burton for a brief scene where he confronts James Hunt on his affair with Suzy. [21] [22]

In reality, Hunt was disqualified post-race from 1976 British Grand Prix (despite winning on the road) for receiving outside assistance.

The Ferrari & the Cinema Society jointly organised a screening of the film at Chelsea Clearview Cinemas in New York on 18 September 2013. Chris Hemsworth attended the screening. [31]

Awards
Award	Category	Recipients and nominees	Result
			Nominated
			Nominated
			Nominated
		,	Won
		Danny Hambrook, Frank Kruse, Markus Stemler	Nominated
	Best Film Editing	Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill	Won
			Nominated
		Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill	Nominated
			Nominated
		Daniel Brühl	Nominated
			Nominated
		Daniel Brühl	Nominated
			Nominated
		Daniel Brühl	Nominated
Phoenix Film Critics Society	Best Film Editing	Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill	Nominated
		Daniel Brühl	Nominated
	Best Score		Nominated
	Virtuoso Award	Daniel Brühl	Won
			Nominated
			Nominated
		Antoine Moulineau, Jody Johnson, Mark Hodgkins	Nominated
		Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill	Nominated
		Danny Hambrook, Frank Kruse, Markus Stemler	Nominated
		Mark Digby, Patrick Rolfe	Nominated
		Julian Day	Nominated
		Daniel Brühl	Nominated
			Nominated
	Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture	Jody Johnson, Moriah Etherington-Sparks, Mark Hodgkins, Antoine Moulineau	Nominated
		Daniel Brühl	Nominated
	Best Editing	Dan Hanley, Mike Hill	Nominated

Hunt–Lauda rivalry
↑ There is some disagreement regarding the country of origin of Rush and this is a weighted listing of the sources. Andrew Eaton, one of the film's producers, calls it a British film, but also indicates it is an "Anglo-German co-production," [4] while another source lists only Germany. [5] Another source lists both Great Britain and the US, [6] [7] while others list all three countries. [8] [9]



Feature films		(1977, also wrote) (1978, also wrote) (1980) (1982) (1984) (1985) (1986) (1988) (1989, also wrote) (1991) (1992, also wrote) (1994) (1995) (1996) (1999) (2000) (2001) (2003) (2005) (2006) (2008) (2009) (2011) (2013) (2015) (2016) (2018) (2020) (2022) (2024) (TBA)
Produced	(1988) (1996) (1997) (2004) (2006) (2008) (2011) (2011) (2014) (2017) (2021) (2023)

Directed	(2013) (2016) (2019) (2020) (2022) (2024)
Produced	(1999) (2012)


Television	(2002, 2011) (2003) (2003) (2005) (2006) (2010) (2014) (2016–23)
Film	(1998) (2006) (2006) (2008) (2008) (2009) (2010) (2011) (2013) (2018)
Shorts	(1990)
Theatre	(2006) (2013) (2022)


Films produced	(1982) (1985) (1985) (1987) (1989) (1990) (1991) (1991) (1992) (1992) (1993) (1994) (1994) (1994) (1994) (1995) (1996) (1996) (1996) (1996) (1996) (1997) (1997) (1998) (1998) (1999) (1999) (1999) (1999) (2000) (2000) (2001) (2002) (2002) (2002) (2003) (2003) (2003) (2004) (2005) (2005) (2005) (2005) (2006) (2006) (2007) (2008) (2008) (2009) (2010) (2011) (2011) (2011) (2011) (2011) (2012) (2013) (2014) (2014) (2015) (2016) (2016) (2017) (2018) (2019) (2019) (2020) (2020) (2021) (2022) (2023) (2023) (2024) (TBA) (TBA)
Films produced and written	(1984) (1986) (1992)
TV series created	(1985)
Related

Rush Review

By Rich Cline

Exhilarating racing action punctuates this true story, which sharply traces the rivalry between two Formula One champs. It's superbly well-shot and edited, with engaging performances from the entire cast. And with only one moment of calculated sentimentality, it's director Ron Howard 's most honest movie in years.

The story begins in the early 1970s, when two rising-star F1 drivers clash over their very different styles. Britain's James Hunt (Hemsworth) is a swaggering womaniser, revelling in the rock-star lifestyle. By contrast, Austria's Niki Lauda (Bruhl) is a fiercely detailed technician who loves pushing barriers. They clearly see things they like in each other, so their different approaches on the track develop into a competitive relationship that spurs them to the front of the pack. Over the years, both meet their wives (Wilde and Lara, respectively) and move from team to team as they rise to the top of their sport. And their rivalry comes to a head at the 1976 German Grand Prix when world champion Lauda is involved in a horrific, fiery accident.

Morgan's script is essentially two biopics cleverly woven together to let us see the push and pull between these two iconic figures. Unexpectedly, Bruhl's Lauda emerges as the stronger character, with his grounded approach and sardonic wit allowing Bruhl to play effectively with submerged emotions. By contrast, Hemsworth's Hunt is little more than a gifted good-time boy who isn't worried about his lack of substance. It's a likeable, loose performance (we barely notice the wobbly British accent). Opposite them Lara and Wilde provide solid, subtle support, as do the fine actors who fill out the pit crews.

It's great to see Howard let a story speak for itself rather than over-explaining everything as he usually does. There's one tidy wrap-up scene, but it's nicely played, complete with an open-handed message about how each of us defines success in a different way. And the most unexpected thing is that Howard has created a movie that feels more like a gritty European film than a Hollywood production. Anthony Dod Mantle's cinematography is particularly eye-catching in this sense, re-creating that 1970s graininess while capturing a strong whoosh of adrenaline in the race track sequences. And in the end, it's the characters' resonant emotional lives that fire our imagination.

Facts and Figures

Year : 2013

Genre : Dramas

Run time : 123 mins

In Theaters : Friday 27th September 2013

Box Office USA : $26.9M

Budget : $38M

Distributed by : Universal Pictures

Production compaines : Double Negative, Exclusive Media Group, Cross Creek Pictures, Revolution Films, Working Title Films

Contactmusic.com : 4 / 5

Rotten Tomatoes : 89% Fresh: 186 Rotten: 23

IMDB : 8.2 / 10

Cast & Crew

Director : Ron Howard

Producer : Eric Fellner , Brian Grazer , Ron Howard , Andrew Eaton , Brian Oliver

Screenwriter : Peter Morgan

Starring : Daniel Brühl as Niki Lauda, Chris Hemsworth as James Hunt, Olivia Wilde as Suzy Miller, Alexandra Maria Lara as Marlene Lauda, Natalie Dormer as Gemma, Christian McKay as Lord Hesketh, Tom Wlaschiha as Harald Ertl, Pierfrancesco Favino as Clay Regazzoni, David Calder as Louis Stanley, Stephen Mangan as Alastair Caldwell, Alistair Petrie as Stirling Moss, Julian Rhind-Tutt as Anthony 'Bubbles' Horsley, Colin Stinton as Teddy Mayer, Jamie de Courcey as Harvey 'Doc' Postlethwaite, Ilario Calvo as Luca Di Montezemolo, Patrick Baladi as John Hogan, Vincent Riotta as Lauda's Mechanic, Martin Savage as McLaren Mechanic, Jamie Sives as BRM Mechanic, James Norton as Guy Edwards

Also starring : Daniel Bruhl , Eric Fellner , Brian Grazer , Ron Howard , Andrew Eaton , Peter Morgan

Rush Movie Site
Rotten Tomatoes

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Movie Review

After the thunderous reception for J.J. Abrams' Episode VII: The Force Awakens two years ago,...

Daddy's Home 2 Movie Review

Like the 2015 original, this comedy plays merrily with cliches to tell a silly story...

The Man Who Invented Christmas Movie Review

There's a somewhat contrived jauntiness to this blending of fact and fiction that may leave...

Ferdinand Movie Review

This animated comedy adventure is based on the beloved children's book, which was published in...

Brigsby Bear Movie Review

Director Dave McCary makes a superb feature debut with this offbeat black comedy, which explores...

Battle of the Sexes Movie Review

A dramatisation of the real-life clash between tennis icons Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs,...

Shot Caller Movie Review

There isn't much subtlety to this prison thriller, but it's edgy enough to hold the...

The Disaster Artist Movie Review

A hilariously outrageous story based on real events, this film recounts the making of the...

Stronger Movie Review

Based on a true story about the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, this looks like one...

Only the Brave Movie Review

Based on a genuinely moving true story, this film undercuts the realism by pushing its...

Wonder Movie Review

This film may be based on RJ Palacio's fictional bestseller, but it approaches its story...

Happy End Movie Review

Austrian auteur Michael Haneke isn't known for his light touch, but rather for hard-hitting, award-winning...

Patti Cake$ Movie Review

Seemingly from out of nowhere, this film generates perhaps the biggest smile of any movie...

The Limehouse Golem Movie Review

A Victorian thriller with rather heavy echoes of Jack the Ripper, this film struggles to...

Actors Index: 0 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Help Contact Us About Us Advertise Business Write For Us T&Cs Privacy Cookie Policy Site Map Consent Settings

Editors Recommended Editors Recommended
News Headlines News Headlines Trending Headlines
Music / Festival News Music / Festival News Musicians & bands in the news
Movie / TV / Theatre News Movie / TV / Theatre News Actors & filmmakers in the news
Lifestyle / Showbiz News Lifestyle / Showbiz News Celebrities in the news
News Archive News Archive
Music Reviews Music Reviews Best Rated Music Reviews
Music Video Music Video Top Music Videos
Most Mentioned Most Mentioned Bands and Musicians in Music
Movie Trailers Movie Trailers
Movie Reviews Movie Reviews Best Rated Movies
Most Mentioned Most Mentioned Actors and Filmmakers in Film
Latest Photos
Popular Photos Latest Photos Updated Galleries
Most Mentioned Most Mentioned People in Photos
Photo Archive Photo Archive
Trending Artists Trending Artists
Actors and Filmmakers Actors Filmmakers
Celebrities Celebrities
Bands and Musicians Bands Musicians
Interviews Interviews
Movie Trailers Movie Trailers Top Movie Trailers
Video Chart Video Chart
Most Mentioned Most Menioned Artists in Video
Music Video
Movie Trailers
Video Chart
Most Mentioned
Trending Artists
Actors and Filmmakers
Bands and Musicians
Celebrities
Popular Photos
Photo Archive

Go Back in Time using our Photos archive to see what happened on a particular day in the past.

Movie Reviews
Music Reviews
News Headlines
Music / Festival News
Movie / TV / Theatre News
Lifestyle / Showbiz News
News Archive

Go Back in Time using our News archive to see what happened on a particular day in the past.

Editors Recommended

A breakneck chase movie on bicycles

“Premium Rush” is a breakneck chase movie about the daredevils who work as Manhattan bicycle messengers. With a map of the city imprinted in their brains, they hurtle down sidewalks, run red lights, go against traffic, jump obstacles and insist on using bikes without brakes. Whatever they’re paid, it’s not enough. If one hits your baby carriage in a crosswalk, you may not see it that way.

The title refers to the extra charge for fast delivery, I suppose. It may also refer to the film’s adrenaline. The characters may not be deeply drawn, but you have to look fast to see them. This is an impressively skilled production that credits about a dozen stunt riders and even more CGI techs, and is never less than convincing as it shows messengers speeding fearlessly into traffic and threading their way through trucks that could flatten them.

Why do they work so hard and dangerously for relatively little money? They seem to do it for the high. They don’t see themselves wearing suits and working in office cubicles. In the story told by “Premium Rush,” it’s less of a job, more of a noble mission, as three messengers outrace the NYPD to deliver a gambling ticket that only one of them knows the story behind. (It’s to pay passage to the United States for the young son of the Chinese heroine, who worked three jobs to raise the money.)

Wilee (think WILE-E), played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt , lean and intense, is said to be the best bike messenger in Manhattan, which is why Nima ( Jamie Chung ) asks for him. She needs the ticket delivered to a woman who will make a crucial call to China. Also in need of the ticket is a rotten cop named Bobby Monday, desperately played by Michael Shannon , whose gambling debts have him in mortal peril. The movie’s first chase involves Wilee’s bike and Monday’s unmarked police car.

In a dizzying unfolding of events, two other messengers also get involved on Wilee’s side. These are Vanessa ( Dania Ramirez ) and Manny (Wolé Parks). All would be gold medal winners if their jobs could be defined as Olympic sports. Bobby Monday also enlists several cops, one on a bike but outclassed; they don’t really understand why they’re chasing Wilee.

The bikes speed under trailer trucks, through food stores, up ramps, over barriers and so on. It’s almost impossible to chase one with a car. At one point, the action involves Wilee and Vanessa actually escaping from an NYPD vehicle pound with the ticket ingeniously hidden.

And that’s about that. If you’re looking for depth and profundity, this is the wrong movie. But under the direction of David Koepp (“ Secret Window ,” the screenplays for “ Mission: Impossible ” and “ Spider-Man “), this is an expert and spellbinding adventure. I’m very weary of routine chase movies. There’s nothing routine about “Premium Rush.” Any action formula can be brought to life with enough imagination and energy.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

Daniela Ramirez as Vanessa
Michael Shannon as Bobby
Wole Parks as Manny
Jamie Chung as Nima
Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Wilee
Lauren Ashley Carter as Phoebe

Directed by

David Koepp
Koeppand John Kamps

Now playing.

Megalopolis

The Last of the Sea Women

The Wild Robot

We Live in Time

Look Into My Eyes

The Front Room

Matt and Mara

The Thicket

The Mother of All Lies

TIFF 2024: The Return, Riff Raff, The Friend

TIFF 2024: Shell, Mistress Dispeller, Vice is Broke

TIFF 2024: Emilia Pérez, The End

FX’s “The Old Man” Starts to Lose Its Step in Season Two

The best movie reviews, in your inbox.

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Trouble logging in?

By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch.

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

Upcoming Movies and TV shows
Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
Media News + More

By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

OK, got it!

About Rotten Tomatoes®
Login/signup

Movies in theaters

Opening This Week
Top Box Office
Coming Soon to Theaters
Certified Fresh Movies

Movies at Home

Fandango at Home
Prime Video
Most Popular Streaming Movies
What to Watch New

Certified fresh picks

89% Speak No Evil Link to Speak No Evil
78% Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Link to Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
95% Rebel Ridge Link to Rebel Ridge

New TV Tonight

83% How to Die Alone: Season 1
59% Emily in Paris: Season 4
20% Three Women: Season 1
-- Universal Basic Guys: Season 1
-- My Brilliant Friend: Story of the Lost Child: Season 4
50% The Old Man: Season 2
-- Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy: Season 1
-- The Circle: Season 7
-- Jack Whitehall: Fatherhood with My Father: Season 1
-- In Vogue: The 90s: Season 1

Movies in Theaters (2024)

IMAGES

Rush
Rush
Rush
Rush
Rush (2013)
- Trailers & Videos

VIDEO

Rush 2013 Movie Explained
Гонка / Rush 2013 Обзор фильма
Kingdom Rush
Rush (2013) Movie Recap: The Rivalry That Defined an Era
RUSH (2013)
Rush Movie CLIP

COMMENTS

Rush (2013)
In the mid-1970s, charismatic English playboy James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Austrian perfectionist Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl) share an intense rivalry in Formula 1 racing. Driving vehicles that ...
Rush
Rush is more than Rocky on four wheels, it's an exhilarating, stylish film with pedal-to-the-metal verve. Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 31, 2021. An exceptional story that transcends ...
Rush movie review & film summary (2013)
"Rush" takes an especially wrong turn at the corner of love and marriage. Olivia Wilde certainly looks the part of runway siren Suzy Miller who inspired Hunt to wed on a whim, but adds little but eye candy. The fact that she soon runs off with actor Richard Burton is about as interesting as she gets. Faring worse is Alexandra Maria Lara as Lauda's first wife, Marlene Knaus, who mostly ...
Rush (2013)
Rush: Directed by Ron Howard. With Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Brühl, Olivia Wilde, Alexandra Maria Lara. James Hunt and Niki Lauda, two extremely skilled Formula One racers, have an intense rivalry with each other. However, it is their enmity that pushes them to their limits.
Rush (2013 film)
Rush is a 2013 biographical sports film centred on the rivalry between two Formula One drivers, Briton James Hunt and the Austrian Niki Lauda, [12] during the 1976 motor-racing season.It was written by Peter Morgan, directed by Ron Howard and stars Chris Hemsworth as Hunt and Daniel Brühl as Lauda. The film premiered in London on 2 September 2013 and was shown at the 2013 Toronto ...
Rush
In Theaters At Home TV Shows. Advertise With Us. The percentage of Approved Tomatometer Critics who have given this movie a positive review. The percentage of users who rated this 3.5 stars or ...
'Rush' Review
3.5. Written by Peter Morgan and directed by Ron Howard, Rush is a Sports film set in the world of Formula One racing. The 2013 movie sees two rivals fighting against one another to reign supreme in the Formula One racing world during the 70s. Rush excels in its exploration of the Hunt and Lauda relationship as well as how the iconic rivalry ...
RUSH Movie Review. Ron Howard's RUSH Stars Chris Hemsworth ...
Rush review. Matt reviews Ron Howard's Formula 1 racing drama Rush starring Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Brühl, Olivia Wilde, and Alexandra Maria Lara.
Rush (2013)
Rush is a superbly shot, directed, edited and performed film that transcends the sport of motor racing, just as the principal protagonists themselves did almost forty years ago. The rivalry between F1 drivers James Hunt (Hemsworth) and Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl) is common knowledge.
Rush
Read an in-depth review and critical analysis of Rush by film critic Brian Eggert on Deep Focus Review. ... 09/27/2013. Ron Howard returns to the shaggy hair and muted visual palette of the 1970s with Rush, a drama about the rivalry between Formula One racers James Hunt and Niki Lauda during the 1976 racing season.
Rush Reviews: Staff Critics and Community Ratings
Rush. Written by Peter Morgan and directed by Ron Howard, Rush is a Sports film set in the world of Formula One racing. The 2013 movie sees two rivals fighting against one another to reign supreme in the Formula One racing world during the 70s. Check out the latest reviews for Rush from our staff critics and community reviewers.
Rush
Set against the glamorous golden age of Formula 1 racing in the 1970s, Rush tells the true story of the great rivalry between handsome English playboy James Hunt and his methodical, brilliant opponent, Austrian driver Niki Lauda. The story chronicles their distinctly different personal styles on and off the track, their loves and the astonishing 1976 season in which both drivers were willing ...
Rush (2013) now available On Demand!
Rush (2013) Rent from $3.99. Buy from $11.99. Add to Watch List. Two-time Academy Award winner Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind, Frost/Nixon), teams once again with fellow two-time Academy Award nominee, writer Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon, The Queen), on RUSH, a spectacular big-screen re-creation of the merciless 1970s rivalry between James Hunt and ...
Rush (2013) Movie Review
Rush (2013) Movie Review. Aaron B. Peterson September 27, 2013. Formula 1 racing was reaching its apex of popularity in the 1970's. Following suit in that era was the emerging rivalry between its 2 greatest competitors, Niki Lauda and James Hunt. The story that emerged between these 2 rivals is the basis for Ron Howard's 'Rush'.
'Rush' Goes Inside Formula One and Two of Its Titans
Directed by Ron Howard. Action, Biography, Drama, History, Sport. R. 2h 3m. By Manohla Dargis. Sept. 19, 2013. Several times in "Rush," Ron Howard's excitingly torqued movie set in the ...
Rush (2013 film)
Rush is a 2013 biographical sports film centred on the rivalry between two Formula One drivers, Briton James Hunt and the Austrian Niki Lauda, [12] during the 1976 motor-racing season.It was written by Peter Morgan, directed by Ron Howard and stars Chris Hemsworth as Hunt and Daniel Brühl as Lauda. The film premiered in London on 2 September 2013 and was shown at the 2013 Toronto ...
The Best Offer
Virgil Oldman (Geoffrey Rush), the director of an esteemed auction house, falls in love with a reclusive young heiress. After he shows her his priceless collection of portraits, she soon ...
Last night I watched Rush (2013). Wow, what an amazing movie!
BettmansDungeonSlave. •. Rush is incredible. I tried selling it to my friends and family that it wasn't just a racing movie. They all seemed to think it was a Fast and Furious type, but racing is basically a background element in it. Sadly, most vehicle racing movies are always underrated and ignored.
Rush (2013 film)
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 88% based on 238 reviews with an average rating of 7.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "A sleek, slick, well-oiled machine, Rush is a finely crafted sports drama with exhilarating race sequences and strong performances from Chris Hemsworth and ...
Rush Review 2013
Exhilarating racing action punctuates this true story, which sharply traces the rivalry between two Formula One champs. It's superbly well-shot and edited, with engaging performances from the ...
The Best Offer movie review & film summary (2013)
January 4, 2014. 5 min read. "The Best Offer". Giuseppe Tornatore's "The Best Offer" features the downfall of an uptight main character, played by Geoffrey Rush, led through a symbolic fairy tale forest to his own ruin. There's even a princess locked up in a tower, and the bread crumbs through the forest take the form of little ...
A breakneck chase movie on bicycles movie review (2012 ...
91 minutes ‧ PG-13 ‧ 2012. Roger Ebert. August 22, 2012. 3 min read. "Premium Rush" is a breakneck chase movie about the daredevils who work as Manhattan bicycle messengers. With a map of the city imprinted in their brains, they hurtle down sidewalks, run red lights, go against traffic, jump obstacles and insist on using bikes without ...
Rush Hour
Rush Hour. TRAILER. NEW. When a Chinese diplomat's daughter is kidnapped in Los Angeles, he calls in Hong Kong Detective Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan) to assist the FBI with the case. But the FBI ...
Movies Out Now in Theaters (2024)
Rotten Less than 60% of reviews for a movie or TV show are positive. Apply Tomatometer ® Clear all Close Certified Fresh A special distinction awarded to the best reviewed movies and TV Shows.

RUSH Review

October Will Bring Great News for Jason Statham Fans

Rush (I) (2013)

Did You Know?

Photo & Video

Related Items

Recently Viewed

Review by Brian Eggert September 28, 2013

Related Titles

Recent Reviews

Recent Articles

Screen Rant

Reviews (0)

Your Rating

Latest Reviews

eternal sunshine of the spotless mind

BABY REINDEER

Where to Watch

Daniel Brühl

User Reviews

2024 Movie Release Calendar

September 2024 Movie Preview

DVD/Blu-ray Releases: New & Upcoming

Every Alien Movie, Ranked

Every Movie Based on a Videogame, Ranked

The Hollywood Outsider – Film and Television Podcast | Reviews An award-winning film and television podcast for the fan in all of us

Rush (2013) Movie Review

About Aaron B. Peterson

Collision Course, as Rivals Follow Their Drives

Rush (2013 film)

Critical reception

Wikiwand in your browser!

Historical accuracy

Rush (2013 film)

Historical accuracy

Related Research Articles

Rush Review

Facts and Figures

Cast & Crew

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Movie Review

Daddy's Home 2 Movie Review

The Man Who Invented Christmas Movie Review

Ferdinand Movie Review

Brigsby Bear Movie Review

Battle of the Sexes Movie Review

Shot Caller Movie Review

The Disaster Artist Movie Review

Stronger Movie Review

Only the Brave Movie Review

Wonder Movie Review

Happy End Movie Review

Patti Cake$ Movie Review

The Limehouse Golem Movie Review

A breakneck chase movie on bicycles

Roger Ebert

Directed by

Leave a comment

Megalopolis

The Last of the Sea Women

The Wild Robot

We Live in Time

Look Into My Eyes

The Front Room

Matt and Mara

The Thicket

The Mother of All Lies

TIFF 2024: The Return, Riff Raff, The Friend

TIFF 2024: Shell, Mistress Dispeller, Vice is Broke

TIFF 2024: Emilia Pérez, The End

FX’s “The Old Man” Starts to Lose Its Step in Season Two

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Email not verified

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

Movies in Theaters (2024)

IMAGES

VIDEO

COMMENTS