The series about Senna generated mixed reviews

When the critically acclaimed film ‘Race’ (originally Rush), dedicated to Niki Lauda and his rise, was released eleven years ago, it was very warmly received by audiences, critics and the motorsport community.

Yesterday, a miniseries about Ayrton Senna premiered on Netflix, about which a highly respected publication writes: “In the end, the series “Senna” is “Race”, stretched over more than six hours, only there are fewer jokes (i.e. none). Can you handle this entire distance?..”

Let’s immediately make a reservation that F1News.ru does not yet have its own opinion about this joint work of the production company Gullane, the family of the legendary Brazilian racer and his enterprise Senna Brands, so we have to rely on the opinion of those who do I’ve already seen the series.

One of the main advantages is that the show is made with high quality, the story is fascinating and the viewer learns many previously not very well-known details about the early period of the career of the future three-time world champion. when he competed in British Formula Ford and F3.

It is also emphasized that the 1980s era in Formula 1, when Senna made his debut in the world championship, is reproduced quite accurately; it is difficult to find fault with the design details of the cars of the era, the uniforms of the drivers and team employees. The images of Ron Dennis, Frank Williams and some other iconic figures from that time are recreated quite convincingly and reliably.

The creators of the series have done a particularly good job with the racing scenes – they say that they look more realistic than in the already mentioned Rush or “Ford v Ferrari”, but at the same time – we quote – “the impression is given that the more expensive the car, the slower it seems on the track”.

If we talk about shortcomings, then the main one, apparently, is that the image of Ayrton Senna himself turned out to be somewhat “varnished”. As the author of a review published on the pages of the British magazine Motor Sport writes, the racer’s family apparently wants the viewer to believe in certain aspects of his character, but at the same time remains silent about some other features of his personality. which can most likely be classified as shortcomings.

Contemporaries know very well that Senna was an extremely complex person, and the creators of the new series tried to simplify and smooth out a lot.

Moreover, not all motorsport heroes of that era are depicted quite reliably; some are only vaguely similar to themselves, and we are not talking about outward resemblance, but about character traits. For example, this is what Motor Sport wrote about Alain Prost’s image: “If Prost didn’t like the way he was portrayed in the Senna documentary, then he’s unlikely to like this portrait of him. Compared to the Brazilian hero, he is reimagined here as a villain…”

Of course, the Senna series is primarily an artistic reconsideration of the biography of the legendary champion, and the authors have the right to take the position they saw fit. But critics also have the right to express their opinions about the series, and only the viewer can decide whether he likes what he sees on the screen or not.

There is no reason to doubt that the creators of the series acted in good faith and with the best intentions, and the new biopic caused a fairly positive reaction among a certain section of the audience. Here’s just one such review:

“The strength of the show is that it highlights great moments in Senna’s career (including her early days and the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix). But some of the special effects are poor, and the series doesn’t address the situation in Brazil at the time at all, even though this was an important part of Senna’s biography. Apparently Netflix was afraid to delve into politics.

But overall it’s an excellent show, with good actors, well-recreated racing scenes and a very strong portrayal of Ayrton’s character. You don’t expect much from Neflix, but as a Formula 1 fan I had to watch the series and was pleasantly surprised.”

In general, the biopic genre is a tricky and very difficult business, and such films will always have critics. Let’s return to this conversation as we watch it for ourselves and form our own thoughts about the series.