American car designer Carroll Shelby and driver Ken Miles battle corporate interference, the laws of physics and their own personal demons to build a revolutionary race car for Ford and challenge Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966.
Chuck says:
With all of its meticulously rendered, in your face, just-a-bit-too-loud racing sequences, at its core “Ford v Ferrari” is really nothing more than a buddy movie. That’s not meant to be a backhanded compliment but speaks to the engine that drives this exceptionally engaging dive into automotive history, a look at how a personal slight led to the spending of millions of dollars and the development of the modern American sports car.
As expected, Damon and Bale are very good here, the former finding ways to inject sly humor into the stoic Shelby, the later reveling in Miles broad nature. To be sure, the racing is exciting and the laughs genuine, but it’s the quiet moments between the two in which they contemplate what they are facing or scenes between Miles and his son (Noah Jupe) that give the film its heart and remind us of the risks these two men are taking, both professionally and personally. Director James Mangold (“Walk the Line,” “Logan”) is at the top of his game, keeping a sure hand on what could have been a sprawling, ungainly narrative, keeping his focus on the two mavericks at the film’s center, never letting the viewer forget that the human element of the tale is what makes us care about all that occurs on the track and in the shop.
