The editing(by Kitano) moves the film quickly and seamlessly between moments of extreme tranquillity and hard violence, while Kitano's performance is quietly intense.
The American strategy was to ensure the right television footage by using embedded reporters and images from their own cameras, editing the film themselves.
The suspense of the film's last 20 minutes, created by the many angles at the director's disposal and the expert editingby Gregers Sall and Chris King, is such that when Senna's car flies off the track into a wall at 190 mph, fracturing his skull, it's almost a relief.