Split Decision: "F1 The Movie"
Wednesday, March 11, 2026 at 2:56PM In the Split Decision series, our writers pair up and face off on an Oscar-nominated movie one loves and the other doesn't. Or, in this case, both are "split" on. Today, BEN MILLER and NATHANIEL R discuss F1 The Movie...
F1 THE MOVIE - nominated for 4 Oscars including Best Picture
BEN: Of the Best Picture nominees, F1 is clearly the one that barely made the list. We talked a bit about director Joseph Kosinski and his film during our Best Director discussion, but I'm curious where your thoughts on the film land.
Personally, I feel like F1 is an entertaining carbon copy of Top Gun: Maverick, but with Formula One race cars instead of Navy fighter jets (in a good way). It certainly did not sniff my top films of the year, but it felt like the Academy needed another mainstream hit to shut up the discourse machine for a few days. On that front, I think they did a great job. But, like I said, there is no world where F1 is one of the top ten films of the year, despite liking it. It's too long and lazy at times, but I was never anything less than entertained. I have a feeling you are not as high on it as I, and I'm pretty middling on it as it is...