After watching Gran Turismo recently, I was in the mood for another good car movie. Unfortunately, Race for Glory wasn't it. While it has solid racing moments, the film is bogged down with mediocre performances and a bloated narrative. Because of this, the audience is left with a story that probably should have been left in the history books.
Directed by Stefano Mordini, Race for Glory is crafted from a script by Filippo Bologna, Mordini, and Riccardo Scamarcio. Produced by Scarmarcio and Jeremy Thomas for Recorded Picture Company, as well as Lebowski, HanWay Films, and Metropolitan Films; and with Daniel Brühl and Scamarcio in starring roles. Inspired by real-life events, the narrative unfolds the rivalry between Roland Gumpert's team driving the Audi Quattro and the team of Cesare Fiorio in the Lancia 037 rally car at the 1983 World Rally Championship. With only 103 models of Lancia Rally 037 built, team Lancia subverts the required homologation minimum of 200 - and it hires the renowned German rally driver Walter Röhrl to drive in one half of the 1983 season.
Admittedly, I'm not a huge fan of racing, but I am a fan of racing films, and with Daniel Brühl attached, I was ready to buckle in for this one! But despite having Zemo as the main antagonist, not only does he not dance, he just isn't utilized enough. Don't get me wrong, he always commands attention, and the races are fun to watch, I just would have preferred more time on the tracks rather than weird subplots that seemed to be shoehorned in solely for dramatic effect. The film is very watchable, and for a nearly two-hour runtime, I wasn't bored, I just expected something a bit more engaging.
The soundtrack is great when exercised, and the casting was damn near perfect. The actors looked the part, and most of the performances were fine. A few times actors seemed uninterested as they delivered their lines, but that could just be chalked up to English being their second language, and it was so few and far between to ruin the experience. There just isn't enough meat to make this story as compelling as it should be, and ultimately because of that, the conclusion doesn't pack the emotional punch the director was striving for.
Race for Glory was simultaneously released in cinemas and on video on demand on January 5th, so it is available now If you're into rally cars, give it a test drive, but if you want to see a good recent racing flick, and I can't believe I'm saying this, watch Gran Turismo instead.
Jessie Hobson