Rush - 2013 - 3 Stars

Actors:  Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Bruhl
Director:  Ron Howard

Rush suffers from what I like to call the Oracle of Knowledge problem.  This is where a character in a film has an outrageously deep and nuanced view of a thing, but we the viewer have no real reason to believe him or her except for their force of character.  It's a small issue as the film goes on, but I've never been a fan of portrayals of genius that make it seem utterly effortless.  Genius may look effortless, but often is not.

I'm no fan of Ron Howard films - I feel like he turns good scripts into mediocre ones and mediocre scripts into bad ones - but here I think he fares quite well.  Of course we get a trademark Howard shot - that's a camera looking at a camera - and another plot point that hinges on The Importance Of Television (this subplot of Apollo 13 is its most regrettable).  Still, there's some interesting shots here that elevate the film beyond its script, and I'm not sure there's another Howard film I'd say that about.