Looking Back at 2023’s Racing Films

OK, OK, I know it’s almost halfway through 2024, but I realized I never did a wrap-up of the motorsports films from 2023.

I already wrote extensively about all three films that came out last year, but here’s a quick, comprehensive rundown and where you can check them out. All three — two films, one miniseries — are respectable entries, but I’ll rank them for the sake of argument.

1. Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story

Miniseries, especially well-done ones, will always get the nod when it comes to ranking things. SB Nation‘s The History of the Seattle Mariners (though it did get compiled into one 3.5-hour supercut) and ESPN’s The Last Dance were my two favorite productions of 2020, even though that year was kind of at a disadvantage when it came to big things releasing for obvious reasons.

That said, when I finally sat down and watched (and wrote about) this series chronicling the rise and/or trials and tribulations of Brawn GP in Formula 1 in the late 2000s, I was blown away. The best part is that our narrator, the one and only Keanu Reeves, evidently has a genuine interest in the subject matter. That goes a long way when it comes to something like this, rather than just having Generic Narrator Man behind the mic or off-screen during interviews.

Even better, we get everyone involved: the team principals, drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello, competitors of the team and Formula 1 brass are all interviewed and all sit down with Keanu.

That’s how to fully realize a comprehensive docuseries — get as many people as possible, or almost all of the key players, who were involved in the subject to be a part of the retrospective.

Available to watch via Hulu subscription.

2. Ferrari

I was lucky enough to sit down with Ferrari stunt coordinator Robert Nagle for a conversation last December, in which he and I discussed the upcoming film as well as his work on productions like Mission: Impossible, Baby Driver and John Wick.

And all of the action in Ferrari is really, really solid, as it balances racing scenes with the interior drama of Enzo Ferrari’s life and Adam Driver does a helluva job in the lead role. This sits 10th on my 2023 list (75 movies in total) but kind of flew under the radar and ended up a little underrated.