Nikki Lauda belongs to a long list of personal superheroes from my childhood also including Nadia Comaneci, John McEnroe, Laffit Pincay, Gary Kasparov and Roberto Duran. I fondly enjoy watching sports events to the point of finding myself glued to the TV during championships, world cups and Olympics. But what I enjoy most is the competitors’ stories behind the triumph, loses, and ties: the passion and commitment to their goal, the rivalry among contenders, and the rewards and sacrifice required in order to become the one, the indisputable number one!
This well executed movie was no exception. Daniel Brühl delivered a great performance that has been recognized with nominations to some of the most important industry awards but, to me, the surprise factor came from Chris Hemsworth´s charming, emotional and natural old good days playboy performance.
Ron Howard is one of my favorite directors and, as usual, he nailed both the well written script’s storytelling and the technical and visual aspects of such a fast paced sport leaving the audience craving for just a bit more adrenaline rush!