What I despise about action films nowadays is their unceasing quest to outdo their predecessors, not in terms of quality and emotion, but in regard to the most superficial -- yet most pleasing -- of cinematic aspects: spectacle. CGI use has reached an all-time high and is showing no sign of stagnation, each blockbuster pushing at the edge of what should be possible with wild and reckless abandon, as if they have forgotten all rules of filmmaking and are simply -- like their actors -- jumping off cliffs for money. Cheap thrills, and little else, have become expected staples in action cinema.The result? Ultimate and irredeemable desensitization. We are no longer shocked by entire planets exploding, no longer feel any sort of thrill when Tom Cruise renders eight thugs senseless, bored when Karl Urban shoots up a whole room of junkies in slow-motion, and barely even entertained when Vin Diesel drives from one building into another, with explosions illuminating the air behind him. This already false substance has become utter fluff, which filmmakers pile on when their ideas and intellect fail them.And yet, we, as an audience for these stupid filmmakers, yearn blindly for what is rarely provided. We want to see big explosions, epic fights, car chases, etc. We want to be thrilled when we partake in the blanched and boneless experience of watching modern films, and sadly, this does rarely ever happens.As such, I picked up Senna from the library hoping for fast cars. That's about it, really. I just wanted to scrunch up on a chair and watch fast cars drive around, crash, explode, and sure, win if possible. I didn't care when it came to who was driving them. Basically, I was in it for a Fast and Furious montage, except slightly more realistic and without Vin Diesel making me squirm with his quasi-religious "family" monologues."I don't got friends. I got family." "Your brother never told you to threaten a man's family? It's a pretty stupid thing to do." "You don't turn your back on your family, even when they do." (What the hell?!) "This time, it ain't about just being fast." (Okay, that one isn't about family, but it still sucks)Senna begins with grainy footage. Which makes sense, considering that it is a documentary about Ayrton Senna, a racecar driver active in the 80s and early 90s, and most, if not all of the footage is collected from that period. But it was initially rather a letdown, considering that I had hoped for something ultra-sleek and sexy, sort of in the vein of Rush (2013) with its lithe, jungle-cat(esque) stylishness, both physically and cinematically. Despite this, the film delivers, not only on the fast cars, but on sheer entertainment. The film is intense and thrilling simply because the footage is real. A sense of the drivers' mortality is evoked within the viewer as we are placed in the driver's shoes, forcing us to understand the rawness and terror of Formula 1 racing as the driver is forced to grapple with every time he enters the car.But what is most surprising about the film is Senna himself. Ayrton Senna is one of the most magnetic individuals that film has had the opportunity to depict. He is a man, complete with emotion, beauty, and anger, displayed to the audience as a full human being rather than simply a character. His initial friendship and eventual rivalry with fellow driver Alain Prost is captured just as magnificently as his delirious ecstasy at winning the World Championship in Brazil, his country of origin.The film, unlike most documentaries, tells real-life stories with an effective dramatic flair, instead of simply presenting events one after the other. Each scene has a purpose, whether to deepen our knowledge of Senna himself or to entertain. Whichever it chooses to do with each subsequent scene is consistently satisfying and emotional.I loved Senna, every single minute of it. It reminded me that we can in fact be emotionally invested in films, that we can be entertained by them, even moved to tears by them. Sure, technical prowess is admirable, but there has to be a pulse behind it all. And when that pulse is fleshed out, undiluted and inextricable from the cinematic experience, the film has undeniably succeeded.

Outstanding documentary whether or not you like or know anything about car racing. I am very into cars and went into this film with a decent amount of knowledge about F1 and Senna, but I watched it with three other people who didn't know anything at all about the subject matter, and all of us found this documentary to be compelling. As a matter of fact, I think the other members of my audience actually liked the film more than I did. I put off watching this for quite a while, because I wasn't sure that I wanted to spend more than an hour and a half watching a story I basically knew, but it wound up being time well spent due to the extra insights provided. I might be, however, the only person who came away from this film with a worse impression of Senna than I had going in. To me personally, he came off as a bit of a prima donna who took excessive risks with his own and other driver's lives, although, prior to watching this film, I did not realize how much of a role religion apparently played in his willingness to push the limits. He is certainly not anyone I would have liked to have raced against. Despite his denials about feeling invincible, he very much seemed to believe that God was protecting him, and this belief, combined with his ruthlessly competitive nature and his extraordinary skills, I think made him a significant danger to himself and everybody else on the track. Everybody who knows how this story plays out, knows that counting on God can get you into a lot of trouble. I recognize that my reconsidered opinion of the man is likely a minority one, and I would encourage others to watch this film and reach their own conclusions.

Formula 1 is a edgy and compelling sport and films about Formula 1 or Motoracing for that matter are heavily scrutinised for their lack of content and unrealism.So formula 1 fans worldwide rush the cinema to see this, we want Senna to be a brilliant film after him being such an iconic figure.The film is brilliant. It is so well documented that you will forget that it is a documentary you are watching and will be cheering and weeping at the film from start to finish.It is hard to believe that so much footage was captured in the late 80's early 90's and tells the story brilliantly. What it also does well is that it balances what to think of Senna from start to finish with his battles with Alain Prost being highlighted throughout but the director still makes us back Senna.The film digs deep in his family life, from holidays on the beaches of Brazil to his funeral which brings the audience closer than ever to the action.To conclude, personally I believe Senna is one of the best Motorsport films ever. If any Formula 1 fans are reading this then maybe we could join together in trying to get a Senna film like Rush which will be an epic.

A very one-sided, biased take on a genius of a driver. It plays up the drama between the drivers at bit much at times when it could have focused more on Senna's struggles with the Williams mechanical team. Although it was interesting to see here where Senna came from, and his struggles through the ranks, the film was not able to capture him on an intimate level. He always remains as a distance, untouchable celebrity. Still, not bad for a film made out of decades old footage. The film did tend to drag on however, and certain parts, especially some of the stuff that had nothing to do with racing, could have easily been cut out (I skipped through some parts myself). I was left wondering how such a stunning driver could be defeated by such a seemingly trivial problem. As troubling as it is that the exact cause of the crash is not known, it is a reminder that he was human, but there is some comfort in know that he died doing not only what he love, but what he had to do. More reviews at gethebonesaw.blogspot.com