SummaryVisionary American car designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and fearless British-born driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale) battle corporate interference, the laws of physics, and their own personal demons to build a revolutionary race car for Ford Motor Company and take on the dominating race cars of Enzo Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans ...
SummaryVisionary American car designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and fearless British-born driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale) battle corporate interference, the laws of physics, and their own personal demons to build a revolutionary race car for Ford Motor Company and take on the dominating race cars of Enzo Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans ...
You’re going to watch Ford v Ferrari for the action, underdog story, and more-than-competent cast. Mangold also has the tone and pace of the film down perfectly. I would watch Ford v Ferrari over and over again.
FvF has some great actors and a story that I normally wouldn’t be interested in but that was actually incredibly engaging to me. I’m not much into race cars or racing, but at the end of the day, despite the fact that this movie was based on true events, it’s more than just about racing and race cars. FvF is about the drive of competition, what it means to be a team player and what being smart looks like. I thoroughly enjoyed the performances Matt Damon and Christian Bale gave as their characters and loved the dynamic and chemistry the two had. The two had memorable moments that made many scenes of this movie hit hard and be really entertaining. The story and script are also great; the dialogue is really good and the way the movie progresses allows for the characters to change a little bit and develop really cool relationships with each other. The film flows really well; it does have some awkward moments for the characters, but those moments don’t disrupt the flow of the movie and more serve to show us who these characters are at their core. The characters have some absolutely savage lines in this movie that show that they have a pair of balls on them and that they aren’t afraid to be who they are. FvF is also a movie about being you and not being afraid to stand up to someone or tell them that they’re wrong when you know for a fact that they are wrong, even if that someone is a friend. FvF also exemplifies the concept that sometimes the experience can be just as satisfying as the victory, even if you don’t win. There is a bigger point here that I’m trying to make, which is this: FvF may be fundamentally about the rivalry between Ford and Ferrari regarding the 24 hours of the Le Mans, but it has so much else going on in it that it’ll be able to appeal to audiences who, like me, aren’t into racing or race cars that much. People can appreciate this movie for a lot of different reasons, which is one reason why it’s so good to me and why I was just as entertained watching this movie the second time as I was the first time. I think I appreciated it more when I was able to see it not just for its filmmaking technique but for its bigger themes and messages. This movie may not have won the academy award for best picture, but for me it’s a must-see and I strongly recommend it for people even if they don’t care much for its premise.
Slick, thrilling and saturated with vivid hues and 60s can-do optimism, Le Mans ’66, James Mangold’s follow-up to Logan, is a precision-tooled machine of a movie.
It is crammed with unearned emotional moments and factory-built male characters whose dedication to their sport we are expected to find adorable and heroic by turns.
I've never been interested in Motorsport, but this this movie is great. Unfortunately, this story does not have a good ending due to the mercantilism and cunning of people
Ford v Ferrari is a so-so film. I do not get why this film was nominated for best picture. It looked like a Christopher Nolan film with very little sense of where it was going. It's too focused on Ken Miles personal life rather than showing the challenges and difficulties of racing. Also, I was highly doubtful that it was historically accurate, with numerous things out of place. Sure, it's a brilliant technical achievement. The racing scenes are edited to perfection, while having some phenomenal sound effects. The special effects and cinematography are great and I fully support the fact that it won oscars for Sound and Editing. The score and performances are noteworthy. But when it comes to storytelling and script, it finishes before the finish line.
Once again we're treated to a rose-tinted view of events of the recent past, dramatised and watered-down a point where the film is trying to tell a story, but that story exists in a fantasy environment.
I'm all for family-orientated movies, but it's hard to watch a film about what is in effect corporate America in the early-mid '60s, and not have an aura of casual racism, sexism, ubiquitous alcohol consumption and pretty much everyone chainsmoking.
It just takes the viewer out of any 'moment' in the movie because it's just so sterile and fake.
So, it's another potentially great film ruined by the curse of the 'PG-13'/'12A' rating that prevents realism from being shown.
I can count on 1 finger how many racing car movies I have seen and though I may recall who was in them I don't remember any of them and, sadly, because I had heard good things about "Ford v Ferrari" it will probably be in the same category. Based on a true story, the screen writers Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth and Jason Keller, juggle 4-5 different stories to add human drama to the film while eliminating any one of them would have brought the movie in at a reasonable showing time, way less than the 2 hours and 30 minutes it runs.
At the same time the director James Mangold has one too many race scenes, one too many shots of a foot hitting the brakes, more shots than necessary to prove Ken Myles is eccentric or business owners and their employees can be underhanded and ruthless. Caitriona Balfe, though a bit difficult to understand, impressed me playing the wife of Christian Bale, who as driver Ken Myles, has been getting raves for his role, left me cold and also hard to understand. Matt Damon is, as always, impressive in a strong, somewhat silent way, as former champion driver and now designer of race cars. Tracy Letts in the role of Henry Ford II has a 2 minute moving and at the same time funny scene while being solid in the rest of the film. Josh Lucas as the boss's right hand man is an effective villain even if the role is a bit overwritten and obvious.
The banter between Damon and Bale tells a lot about both men but one segment, meant to be funny is only funny due to the reaction of Balfe while Bale's scenes with Noah Jupe, just right as his son, shows the man to be a good father.
The behind the scenes of business life certainly isn't new but the behind the scenes of the racing sport and business aspect of it and car companies is interesting.
Though you may know who the winner is, or will be, in "Ford v Ferrari" it will entertain you if you can get through the 30 to 40 minutes unnecessary segments.