Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl bring the historic rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda to life in Rush.

Back in 2009, Chris Hemsworth made his big screen debut in Star Trek with his role as Kirk’s father, which didn’t last too long as Hemsworth’s character dies in the opening scene. When I heard Thor was being adapted into a movie, I wasn’t that excited. I was told that ‘the guy from Star Trek‘ would portray Thor. I thought that meant Chris Pine, when it in fact meant man who played his father, Hemsworth.

Once again, this did not impress me, because at this time I thought and I think we all thought, ‘Who is Chris Hemsworth?’ The trailer was released for Thor and it was another letdown. However, Ssjrem, the rest of my friends and I see movies. It’s what we do if you haven’t noticed. So naturally, we saw Thor and it was fantastic. Hemsworth nailed it as Thor, and the film became a worthy addition to the Marvel collection. After Thor, Hemsworth landed roles in Snow White and the Huntsmen and Red Dawn (Well Red Dawn was made I believe in 2009 but was released in 2012). Both were again action roles, so the question was, ‘Could Hemsworth separate himself from Thor?’

In his portrayal of James Hunt in Rush, Hemsworth broke away from the god of thunder. This role was tailor-made for him as the casting for the film was perfect. I was able to see this because at the end of Rush they showed the showed clips of James Hunt and Niki Lauda. That was key for me because I don’t watch the sport and knew nothing about the history. Clearly, Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl at the very least looked the part.

Speaking of Daniel Bruhl, the movie is centered on his character, Niki Lauda. That was interesting to me because the movie was sold on Hemsworth starring in it. I’ll admit that I obviously focused on his performance as well. He is the driving force that would pull viewers in to seeing Rush.

That being said, Bruhl’s performance can’t go overlooked. The great thing about his character was that I both liked and hated him at the same time. To jump off that point, the evolution of the main characters was key to the film. Their personalities differ yet you respect certain parts of both racers, as they also respected each other.

I took a keen interest in the story. Maybe it wouldn’t have been as good if I knew the history of Formula 1 racing, but not knowing the fate of the drivers made Rush absolutely thrilling. The score, the rain and the darkness of the setting constantly reminded the audience that lives were at stake. That kept me on the edge of my seat.

I went into this film with very high expectations and although most were met a few fell short. This is not a film worthy of Oscar nominations as the trailer led me to believe. I thought the history was very interesting and that left me wanting more of it. Rush had a run time of about two hours. I thought they should have stretched it to two and a half.

The plot was a bit, well…rushed. Lauda, as seen in the trailer, recovered from his life-threatening burns. However, in the movie it look about two minutes in run time to get back on the track. Also, Lauda and Hunt’s hatred for each other turned into respect very quickly. Give the movie another half hour and I think Rush could have covered more about that part of the rivalry.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Rush didn’t meet my expectations of a worthy Oscar film, but still told a solid and thrilling story about the rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda.

I’ll give Rush 4 out of 5 cups.

As of Oct. 9, Rush made a domestic total of approximately $19 million versus a production budget of $38 million, according to Box Office Mojo.

Rush has a rating of 88% at Rotten Tomatoes while users at the Internet Movie Database gave it 8.3 out of 10 stars.

To see the movie trailer for Rush, click here.