Early Buzz: Ron Howard’s ‘Rush’ Thrills Critics In Toronto
Ron Howardis by no means critically reviled, but as a director he hasn’t had the sort of career that gets hardcore cinephiles all hot and bothered, either. So while we’ve been curious aboutRush, his Formula 1 racing drama, it’d be a stretch to say it was one of our most anticipated releases of the year.
In the wake of its Toronto Film Festival debut, however, we may have to reconsider. Early reactions have ranged from solid to positively glowing, with plenty of reviewers noting that Howard has managed to avoid his usual sentimentality. As a matter of fact, praise was lavished on just about everyone involved, including starsChris HemsworthandDaniel Bruhl, screenwriterPeter Morgan, and cinematographerAnthony Dod Mantle. Hit the jump to read the reviews.
Varietywas among the most enthusiastic critics:
Total Filmgave the movie five stars out of five:
Screen Dailypredicted that the film would appeal to sports fans everywhere, not just F1 followers:
The next four critics each awardedRushfour stars out of five.
Telegraph:
Hey U Guys:
Independent:
Den of Geek:
THRwas one of the few left totally unmoved by the racing scenes:
Digital Spyrated the film three stars out of five, making theirs one of the most negative reviews:
And now, a smattering of tweets:
Brilliant film! Well done@RealRonHowardand cast.#Rushpic.twitter.com/EkDY1ieP7O
— Rachel Brookes (@RachelBrookesTV)June 13, 2025
What a movie.#Rushwas all it should be; a brilliant telling of 76 drama Lauda v Hunt. Nice mug in there@RobertoAustini!#Epic
— Ash Miller (@_ashmiller)June 05, 2025
To be fair the real life story of Hunt and Lauda’s rivalry was made to be portrayed on the big screen.#rush
— Maxwell Hubbard (@maxwellhubbard)July 11, 2025
Basically,Rushdoesn’t sound perfect, but it does seem to be one of Howard’s best films in years — or maybe ever, if you ask some of its more passionate fans. At any rate, it sounds well worth giving a shot when it hits theatersSeptember 20.
