Sport centric films can either fall by the wayside or are able to capture the attention of any audience. Motorsports might be in the latter category for the pure adrenalin and speed spectacle elements. But those films based on historical events, tend to cut down on the excitement and concentrate on the drama off the track. Race for Glory: Audi vs Lancia is based on a real championship. Anyone who is interested in motorsports, specifically rally driving will at least get some joy out of this one.
At the 1983 World Rally Championship, the intense and at times, petty rivalry between the German led Audi Sport GmbH team and the Italian led Lancia Abarth team comes to a head. With the Audi Quattro car a favourite to win, Lancia lead Cesare Fiorio tries everything within his power to make his team a success, even hiring the renowned German rally driver Walter Rohrl for only half the races.
Race for Glory is entertaining in spurts but lacks a sense of competition or intrigue. The cutting between an interview with Cesare Fiorio and the events themselves does break up the story overall but also removes from the little action that is shown on screen. This is an underdog story with heart and, excuse the pun, drive, a decent cast and, when on screen, exhilarating action scenes. Unfortunately, there isn't anything else of note to focus on.
There is a feeling this is a passion project for the filmmakers involved but the passion doesn't reach the audience. We are left watching a few entertaining moments, in particular involving moving 100 plus cars to different car parks, and then the several venomous exchanges by the team leads. This does cement the rivalry but really does feel repetitive and again, slows down the action. Riccardo Scamarcio and Daniel Bruhl feel at home in their roles as Cesare Fiorio and Roland Gumpert. Both noteworthy actors, but here, they are constrained by the unimaginative dialogue, with Bruhl getting lost in the film overall. For a story about rally driving, there are few fast action sequences involving the actual rally driving and most of the story is just, talking about rally driving.
For those familiar with the story and the ‘legendary' rivalry, might be able to find some joy between the lines, but anyone who is entering this film and subject as a novice, will certainly get frustrated at the structure and pacing of the plot.
Signature Entertainment presents Race for Glory: Audi vs Lancia on Digital Platforms 5th February
