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Big star. Big action. Big drama.

Brad Pitt, in fact, is likely to challenge Tom Cruise in this arena聽鈥� if he wants to. He has all the attributes you鈥檇 expect from a former driver coming back to the field. Before we even get a chance to know him, however, director Joseph Kosinski builds the character鈥檚 resume with voiceovers, commentators, friends and rivals. When he turns up on the track, there鈥檚 less work for Pitt to do. He straps in and starts driving.

The pull comes from a former teammate (Javier Bardem) who has an extra seat on his team. APXGP already has a star, but it needs a risk taker to test the field. Pitt鈥檚 Sonny Hayes fills the bill nicely. In addition to a recent win at Daytona, he has a history of gambling on cards and women. Both haven鈥檛 worked out well, but Sonny lives in a van down by the ocean and doesn鈥檛 need much to keep going.

He accepts the challenge and soon finds push-back from Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), a brash young driver who doesn鈥檛 want any barriers in his way. That sets up a rivalry of sorts that plays out over more races than you care to watch.

Naturally, there are crashes,聽calculating owners and a team so good you鈥檇 think they could launch a rocket into space in their spare time.

Kosinski (who also聽directed 鈥淭op Gun: Maverick鈥�) brings a lot of the same tension here and gets great buy-in for the final race. But at two hours and 35 minutes, 鈥淔1鈥� could have left a lap or two on the editing room floor and would have been just as effective.

Pitt, who usually doesn鈥檛 go for these made-for-a-star roles, delivers on every turn. He鈥檚 a throwback to the days when actors didn鈥檛 need training to look like they belonged in an industry. Here, Pitt鈥檚 crash course practically ensures a spot among the sport鈥檚 elite.

While 鈥淔1鈥� isn鈥檛 packed with romance, it does offer a winning relationship between Pitt and Kerry Condon, the team鈥檚 technical director. There鈥檚 a little steam but not enough to obscure the goal.

鈥淔1,鈥� in fact, looks glossier than you鈥檇 think a racing film should. It has high-tech offices, sleek clothes and enough questionable 鈥渂ehind the scenes鈥� guys to make you think this was a wedding in Silicon Valley.

Bardem surprises in a small role and Condon is an age-appropriate lover. 鈥淔1鈥� doesn鈥檛 get into a lot of the other teams but it does make this seem like a true spectacle.

If Formula One racing gets a big boost in the next year, just know it was because officials had the good sense to make this very effective Pitt stop.