You've probably noticed ads running for the upcoming film RUSH being released in the U.S. in a couple of weeks (unless you are lucky enough to be from the U.K., where it has already premiered). A once-in-a-blue-moon picture from Hollywood that covers the subject of motor racing; but not just any motorsport, Grand Prix F1 racing from the mid-1970s. (Why that’s significant, I’ll reveal in another post).

Since it’s already been released in England and it’s so close to the U.S. release date, there has already been a number of reviews from critics here and abroad, and right now the response has been incredibly favorable. As of today, it has a 97% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes. There’s still a lot of US critics yet to see it of course, but this rating suggests that the movie will not be the typical hack offering about the sport from Hollywood.

But even with all the positive feedback so far, I’m still holding judgment until I see the motion picture myself. Why? Because I remember a couple years back about a certain documentary being released about a certain Brazilian Formula 1 driver where the reviews were just as overwhelmingly positive as this one (so far). I bought into the all hype and praise being bestowed on the Senna doc before actually seeing it, and I went to the theater to see Senna thinking this may be the greatest cinematic experience in a theater in my life, short of possibly having sex in the movie seats…maybe.

When I walked out of the theater after Senna, well, I’ll just say it didn’t live up to what I thought it would be, and was even slightly miffed on a couple things about it. So this time, despite the reviews, I’m not jumping the gun. But I will say that I’m encouraged that Ron Howard is directing it, I’ve seen Apollo 13 and the seriously underrated Quiz Show, and loved both of them, so I know he has the potential of making a great film. We’ll see.

But when I do see it, expect a lengthy review from me here. Since it is about a subject I care very much about. I’ll explain in the second part of this…