The first reviews are in: Apple’s ‘F1: The Movie’ looks like a winner, thanks to… Netflix?

Apple is days away from the official premiere of what is gearing up to be its biggest theatrical bet yet, and early reactions suggest it might actually stick the landing. Or lock the pole position. You get what I mean.

Here’s what critics had to say after last night’s press screening of F1: The Movie, starring Brad Pitt (Fight Club) and produced by legendary F1 champion Lewis Hamilton.

“So freaking good”

As reported by Variety, initial reactions to F1: The Movie are overwhelmingly positive, even by non-F1 racing fans like The Nerdist and Breakroom’s Maude Garrett:

The feeling was echoed by Variety’s Jazz Tangcay, who raved about the movie’s technical aspects:

With a praise list that went on, including from Fandango’s Managing Director Erik Davis and Pop Culture writer Bernard Smalls, the consensus seems to be that Apple might have got a bona-fide blockbuster in its hands.

Thank you, Netflix?

As Variety notes, Apple’s potential biggest hit yet has an interesting origin story:

During a virtual press conference earlier this year, [director Joseph] Kosinski discussed the making of the film, explaining that he became a fan of Formula 1 racing after discovering Netflix’s “Drive to Survive” series during the COVID pandemic.

Regardless of how the movie came to be, the truth is that Apple couldn’t have asked for a better initial reaction.

As Brad Pitt, director Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick), producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Remember The Titans), cinematographer Claudio Miranda (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), and F1 great Lewis Hamilton got attached to the project, hype obviously started building, which Apple promptly propped up.

And while this sort of build-up doesn’t always pay off, Apple seems to be on track (get it?) to be the exception that might just prove the rule.

‘F1: The Movie’ opens internationally starting June 25, and in U.S. theaters and IMAX nationwide, on June 27.

Apple TV+ is available for $9.99 per month and features hit TV shows and movies like Ted Lasso, Severance, The Studio, The Morning Show, Shrinking and Silo.