GRADE: A-

You don't need to be a racing fan to enjoy "Senna," a documentary about the legendary Formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna that moves at top speed.

Director Asif Kapadia applies his expertise in action movies (the Bollywood drama "The Warrior" and the Sarah Michelle Gellar horror film "The Return") to create a thrilling portrait of the Brazilian racer, from his hotheaded early career through his rise to prominence.

With a wealth of racing footage, Kapadia makes you feel almost as if you're in the car with Senna. But the behind-the-scenes drama of Senna's racetrack life — from his rivalry with French driver Alain Prost to his emergence as a spokesman for drivers' safety — is riveting.

Family interviews (all in voiceover, with no talking-head documentary slowdown) help complete the picture of a charismatic superstar whose life was too dramatic to be told as fiction.