''McLaren'' is a 2017 New Zealand

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

based on the life of

Bruce McLaren Bruce Leslie McLaren (30 August 1937 – 2 June 1970) was a New Zealand racing car designer, driver, engineer, and inventor. His name lives on in the McLaren team which has been one of the most successful in Formula One championship history, ...

, founder of the

Bruce McLaren Motor Racing McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...

team. The film stars

Dwayne Cameron Dwayne Cameron (born 28 October 1981) is a New Zealand actor, writer, director and producer. Cameron is best known internationally for playing the lead roles of Bray on the teen drama series '' The Tribe'' and Tyzonn in ''Power Rangers Operat ...

as Bruce McLaren and was directed by

Roger Donaldson Roger Lindsey Donaldson (born 15 November 1945) is an Australian-born New Zealand film director, producer and writer whose films include the 1981 relationship drama '' Smash Palace'', and a run of titles shot in the United States, including t ...

Synopsis

The film recounts the life of New Zealand motor car racer Bruce McLaren through interviews, archival footage, and recreations.

Cast

* Matt Coldrick as English Doctor *

Mario Andretti Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an Italian-born American former racing driver. One of the most successful drivers in the history of motorsports, Andretti is one of only two drivers to have won races in Formula One, IndyCar, t ...

as himself * Alastair Caldwell as himself *

Emerson Fittipaldi Emerson Fittipaldi (; born 12 December 1946) is a Brazilian former automobile racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship and the Indianapolis 500 twice each and the CART championship once. Moving up from Formula Two, Fittip ...

as himself

Production

Scenes were shot at 590 Remuera Rd, Remuera, Auckland 1050, New Zealand, where Bruce McLaren grew up.

Release

The film premiered in the UK on 25 May 2017, followed by its release in New Zealand on 1 June 2017. The film screened at the 2017

Sydney Film Festival The Sydney Film Festival is an annual competitive film festival held in Sydney, Australia, usually over 12 days in June. A number of awards are given, the top one being the Sydney Film Prize. the festival's director is Nashen Moodley. Histo ...

before being released in Australian on 21 June 2017.

Reception

Ellie Walker-Arnott of '' Time Out'' gave it 4 out of 5 starts, writing, "A handful of dramatisations – intended to flesh out gaps in the narrative – jar while at times the film digs deep into detail in a way that threatens to alienate all but the most dedicated racing fans. But ultimately the human story of this scrappy and magnetic man keeps the doc on track." Zara Horn gave it 5 stars for telling the story of a motorsports legend who overcame his childhood physical challenges to pursue his passion and establish an enduring legacy. Steve Newall of the ''

New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...

'' gave it 3 out of 5 stars, writing that the film "should hold differing types of appeal to various generations. For older viewers it'll be the retelling of a familiar story of one of their fallen heroes, whereas others may gravitate to the mid-20th-century motorsport environment". Peter Bradshaw of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' gave it 2 out of 5 stars, calling it a "motor-racing film only for petrolheads" that "does not tell us why we should be interested in its subject" because it "makes no serious attempt at reaching out beyond its fanbase, connecting with non-petrolheads, or gaining any perspective on the sometimes scary and dysfunctional world of motor racing". John Nugent of ''

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

'' gave it 2 stars, writing that the film is "assembled in such a way that can only appeal to the target ''Top Gear'' demographic. Non-petrolheads need not apply."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McLaren 2017 films Documentary films about auto racing Universal Pictures films 2017 documentary films Films directed by Roger Donaldson Films set in New Zealand Films shot in New Zealand Films scored by J. Peter Robinson New Zealand auto racing films New Zealand documentary films 2010s English-language films