2 reviews

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Russell George June 7, 2011

Enthralling and compelling. You certainly don't need to enjoy motor racing at all. Beautifully pieced together from behind-the-scenes footage as well as media interviews and race footage, it's personal without being slushy, partly due to the absence of a narrator. And the ending is gut wrenching even though we know that it's coming. Senna was certainly a driven and single minded competitor, but he was also a very humble and spiritual man. This is a sincere and fitting testament to his legend.

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Emma Irwin June 2, 2011

“It's going to be a season with lots of accidents, and I'll risk saying that we'll be lucky if something really serious doesn't happen.” Ayrton Senna

At the age of 11 Formula 1 was simple for me, Nigel Mansell was the good guy and Ayrton Senna was the bad guy. Then Senna died and all I heard was what an amazing driver he was and how great he had been. I couldn’t understand it… until now. This film tells the motor racing history of Senna and the events that shaped his career, beginning in 1978 when he first left Brazil to race karts, his first Formula 1 race in 1984 and the following highs and lows. It is narrated by Senna himself along with other drivers, sports commentators, and Senna’s family using a variety of film footage and interviews.

I went to see this film as a big fan of Formula 1 expecting to see the great rivalry between Mansell and Senna that I remember from my childhood played out on screen. However, either this battle was not as epic as I recall or it wasn’t as important to the makers of the film as the rivalry between Senna and Prost. Their many differences were clearly a defining factor in Senna’s career and are well portrayed, although Prost does not come off so well! You see the great passion Senna had for racing and the even greater belief in God. You watch the rise of a hero in Brazil and his tragic end. There are some very graphic images of what happens when racing goes wrong which I wasn’t expecting to see in such detail but were very well handled.

This is an excellent film for anyone with an interest in motor racing. I had no recollection of a great many events in Senna’s life but enjoyed every minute of being shown them. Make sure you stay to the end of the credits for some final footage and one of my favourite Senna moments.