I didn’t even really intend to watch this movie. I just put it on briefly as a kind of home theater tech demo, but then kept watching it, as it was interesting enough to pull me in.

There’s nothing revolutionary here; it follows a whole bunch of the standard sports-movie tropes. We’ve got our talented but washed-up older guy; we’ve got a promising rookie who needs some tough love to pull it together and realize that it’s more about the sport than the fame; we’ve got a last-place team that’s on the border of being disbanded/sold; we’ve got the surprising success via unconventional tactics (but ultimately depending on our heroes being super awesome); we’ve got the setback and internal conflict; we’ve got the reconciliation and the team coming together to win even more; and then we’ve got the big championship that they need to win even though everything seems stacked against them.

I basically just described the movie to you, but I don’t think anything I said could be considered a spoiler. You knew all that the instant you set eyes on the title. What’s more surprising is that it’s actually done well, and it works as a movie. The racing seems nonsensical (although it’s always clear to the viewer what’s happening and why it matters, which isn’t nothing), and the basic premise of a 60-something guy succeeding as an F1 driver out of nowhere even more so. But it’s a fun piece of fluff, so it’s hard to care.

This isn’t a great movie, but if you’re looking for something straightforward and unchallenging, it’s a good one.