Academy Award-winning director Ron Howard constantly excites in this epic racing thriller
By Jason Amico

On September 27th, Rush, a heavily-anticipated action film directed by Academy Award-winning director Ron Howard, was released. The plot centers around the 1976 Formula One season and, more specifically, the close personal rivalry between legendary drivers Nikki Lauda and James Hunt. The Austrian and British drivers, respectively, were at the height of their careers during the aforementioned season and fought with each other for the World Championship until the very last race. The film begins by explaining the origin of their rivalry in 1970, and leads up to the climax rather smoothly, with thrilling, realistic depictions of each race in the famous 1976 season and how personal the rivalry got; exciting verbal and nonverbal exchanges between men became rather frequent, displaying the exuberant passion of the two men.
The peak of the film’s plot was undoubtedly the near-fatal crash of Nikki Lauda’s Ferrari at the famed Nurburgring in Germany in the midst of a downpour, and subsequent fire that he narrowly escaped from. Perhaps more surprising than the crash itself was that in only four months time (where Hunt worked feverishly to catch up to Lauda in the Championship standings), Lauda makes a miraculous, unexpected comeback that is sure to enthrall any viewer.
Lead actors Chris Hemsworth (Thor, Star Trek), who plays the likeable, happy-go-lucky Hunt, and Daniel Brühl (Inglorious Basterds, The Bourne Ultimatum), who plays the brute, rigid driving legend Lauda, do exceptional jobs at portraying two very unique, admirable men. Director Howard does an incredible job at making this story relatable to race fans and people with no knowledge of cars alike, as anyone can relate to a heated rivalry and can enjoy the exhuberant sounds of 1,000+ horsepower-per-ton-racecars from 1970s F1 cars. This thriller is a must-see, as it never fails to excite the viewer from its inception to the closing credits.