2h 35m | 12
www.imdb.com
Recently caught the much talked about F1:The Movie on IMAX in Bangalore.
Coming to the sound design, it was surprisingly underwhelming - given that Jo Kosinski, its director gave us Top Gun: Maverick, with a reference mix.
The F1 sounds which I thought would be worth the IMAX ticket, had no muscle in it. Its levels were low, drowned by the constant and distracting commentary and Zimmer’s kick drums. I was hoping for some enveloping surround sound steering, following the F1 cars, but there were barely any. There were some moments, but the audio experience was largely disappointing.
And the editing: sometimes it looked like the F1 driver was stepping on a grumpy stock automatic.
The only good part was the opening Daytona race, which I think was brilliantly filmed and mixed. But the saving grace is the cinematography - especially those high-speed wide angle shots from the front wheels’ “POV” - that was simply breathtaking.
I am not an F1 fan, except for some knowledge about its rules. Maybe, the movie was trying to stay true to an actual F1 watching experience. I wonder how other FMs who have seen the movie felt about its sound design.