Brad Pitt is a race-car driver seeking redemption, and a Black Panther character is getting her own series, with Ryan and Zinzi Coogler executive producing, in this week’s roundup.

“F1 The Movie” >> Predictability often acts like a wrecking ball and utterly destroys moviegoing experiences. But in director Joseph Kosinski’s capable hands a textbook formula makes the engine of “F1 The Movie” purr like a pussycat — most of the time.

Bolstered by impeccable editing, heart-palpitating race sequences and a bitter, well-executed rivalry between fallen racing veteran Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) and cocky, social-media-savvy rookie Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris, in a career-making performance), Kosinski’s character-driven epic clocks in at over 2½ hours but operates like a sleek, well-oiled summer vehicle. It just so happens to also have a brain under its hood and even ponders a big question for the Baby Boomer set: What drives us to pursue our passion? The fact it doesn’t really come up with anything new to say about that doesn’t matter much. Just buckle up and enjoy the ride.

“F1 The Movie” triumphs mostly on the technical side, thanks to the sound, the aforementioned editing and the sexy cinematography. But it’s also, to a lesser but still significant degree, a stellar portrayal of two battling stubborn male egos. Kosinski is a pro at navigating standoffs and and begrudging friendships between guys. His “Top Gun: Maverick” came fully loaded with testosterone, as we all know.

It helps that both stars ace their parts and even put their own stamp on familiar characters. The sun-kissed, set-in-his-ways Sonny is a perpetual wanderer dubiously remembered for how his brazen tactics put the brakes on his F1 career in the ‘90s. He’s an archetypal character, a former rock star athlete shambling about to races in his old-school, grungy van that serves as home and gym. (Pitt, as you will see, knows how to impress with his regimen of pull ups, pushups.) The Oscar winner takes a cliched role of the disgraced loner and gives a low-key, effective performance, relying on glances not glares to get him over the finish line. It works.

Ehren Kruger’s screenplay doesn’t always help Pitt in that pursuit but is engaging nonetheless. Pitt plays a driver looking to redeem a career that flamed out in a legendary crash. Sonny’s last shot for FI success comes courtesy of dapper ex-teammate Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), the desperate owner of a basement-dwelling team destined to be sold off. Sonny signs on and immediately gets into tense dustups with Pearce who, like Sonny, is prone to making rash decisions and is more of an individual racer than a team player.The war between the two on and off the track fuels the drama while the incredible racing sequences juice it up. Where “F1” stalls is in its needless romantic storyline between Sonny and Kate (Kerry Condon). She is the extra-sharp technical director and Pitt’s team and a rarity — a woman in a field of men. Condon is a smart and nuanced actor and she steers Kate away from turning into the cliched love interest, but it’s still a weak subplot and adds zip to a story that’s already pumped up by Hans Zimmer’s thumping score.

No doubt this is one mighty familiar story, but who gives a damn when it’s told with such energy and skill. As for how it compares to other racing films, consider this: It’s more satisfying than Tony Scott’s OK “Days of Thunder” with Tom Cruise but lags a couple laps behind Ron Howard’s “Rush” with Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl. That’s not a bad pole position to be in.

Details >> 3 stars out of 4; in theaters June 27.

“Ironheart” >> Cinema power couple Ryan and Zinzi Coogler (“Sinners”) are among the executive producers behind Chinaka Hodge’s new series about one of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s” most memorable characters — genius teen scientist Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne). And oh does the Tony Stark (aka Iron Man) Fellowship college student land into big trouble in this fast-paced, very funny six-episode series on Disney+. For any “Black Panther” fan, or for that matter, and Marvel fan, the Robin Hood-like storyline makes for a satisfying sidenote that offers hints at what’s ahead in the MCU. (In other words, new characters get introduced, and stay put for that final end credit scene). Riri gets a rude awakening in Episode 1 when she’s expelled from MIT for some side hustles academics frown on. She moves back to her hometown of Chicago, a painful return since it’s where the traumatic deaths of her stepdad and best friend Natalie (Lyric Ross) occurred.

Without necessary funding for research so she can create more Iron Man-like suits and engage in other science projects, the ambitious Riri seeks quick money by joining up with Parker Robbins (Anthony Ramos of “In the Heights”) — aka “The Hood” — and his street-smart crew. They rob smug rich people whose actions are making life miserable for the poor.

“The Hood” is a decent nemesis that could have benefited from another episode to further explore his motivations and background, along with his scaly intentions. Ramos is a very good actor and could have sunk his teeth into that. There are twists and surprises and clever visual cues (such as a Faust poster in the background of one scene) and Hodge explores broader, fertile themes about injustice, and the higher standards and expectations foisted on the shoulders of young people of color.

As with many MCU features and series, “Ironheart’ features a terrific playlist and numerous funny one-liners, and delivers spectacular action set pieces as well as a topical AI storyline and some fully developed characters — in particular Joe McGillicuddy (Alden Ehrenreich, a most welcome addition to the MCU) who wants to use technology for the good of society but is bullied by his female next-door neighbor. The series’ biggest disappointment is “The Hood,” whose backstory needs more fleshing out, given his impact on the story line.

Regardless, concerns that the series’ delay was due to quality problems have proved to be viral poppycock. “Ironheart” points MCU in an intriguing direction and gives us characters we’d like to see more of in the future.

Details >> 3 stars; three episodes drop June 24 with three remaining episodes dropping July 1.