Hitting The Apex

Hitting the Apex is a documentary examining the recent history of MotoGP racing and its most prominent competitors. Directed by Mark Neale, who has previous on this subject having directed three previous documentaries on this very same format of motorcycle road racing, the main draw however is Brad Pitt, who provides the narration.

The film is entertaining, thanks mainly to the dramatic racing footage featured, which is thrilling to watch on the big screen. Structurally the film is a bit confused, as I’ve stated it is essentially an extensive look at the recent history of the sport, meaning the last eight or so seasons, although this is never really established or explained to the audience, and some seasons receive much more attention than others leaving it feeling slightly unbalanced. This is exacerbated by the director’s choice at times to focus on the leading riders individually, which means the film jumps around temporally and lacks a sense of an overriding arch worthy of a feature film.

At its best the director explores the rivalries between the competitors in a way that is gripping and emotive. The clashes between Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi, and particularly Jorge Lorenzo and Marco Simoncelli are powerful scenes, illustrated through press conference footage juxtaposed with race action. But as impressive as the race footage is, at over two hours long, this footage, interspersed with talking head interviews and bits of behind the scenes stuff, begins to feel a little repetitive. I’m sure this won’t be a problem for MotoGP fans who will no doubt make up the overwhelming majority of the audience, but for casual spectators the edit could have probably done with losing an extra half an hour.

In addition to its select theatres release Hitting the Apex is released on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD on 7th September.