James Mangold’s (Logan, Walk the Line) Ford v Ferrari is the perfect movie to see in the theatre. It has action. It has drama. It has a clear protagonist. It makes you want to stand up and cheer for the good guys. This racing movie is much better viewed on the big screen than on a small screen at home. Likewise, a movie theater’s surround system is a better experience than any surround system you might have at home. With that said, this movie has gotten much better acclaim (91% critics, 98% audience on Rotten Tomatoes) than it probably deserved. I haven’t seen many racecar movies, but this movie fails compared to a film like Rush. However, this is a good and highly entertaining movie.
In California, Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting, The Martian) stars as Carroll Shelby, a former professional driver who, in 1960, is forced into retirement because of a heart condition. He decides to go into car sales, where he excels at selling modern sports cars because he is an extraordinary vehicle designer and engineer. He is likable and has a proven record as a winning driver. His friend Ken Miles (Christian Bale – The Fighter, The Dark Knight Rises) is also a racecar driver currently working as a mechanic in his shop. His wife Mollie (Caitriona Balfe – Money Monster, Now You See Me) and son Peter (Noah Jupe – Honey Boy, A Quiet Place) love their husband/father. Still, he’s struggling to keep his business and his racing afloat (the IRS comes calling and shuts down his garage temporarily) and decides to give up his dream of driving to support his family better. The somewhat unpredictable Ken can sometimes get angry with customers. But he’s a tell-it-as-it-is kind of guy who takes his work, driving, and family very seriously, even if he can sometimes come across as crass.
Meanwhile, in Detroit, Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts – Lady Bird, The Post) shuts down his assembly line to lash out at his blue-collar workers and his white-collar ones. Sales are down, and the company is in danger. He threatens to fire everyone while offering his subordinates the opportunity to pitch ideas to help increase sales and restore the business. Lee Iacocca (Jon Bernthal – Widows, Wind River) pitches him an idea – the sexiest cars are race cars, like Ferraris. He recommends Ford compete in the Le Mans, a 24-hour race held in France) to be the first American company to win the annual race.
To help design a sports car that can compete, Ford, Iacocca, and Ford Vice President Leo Bebee (Josh Lucas – Glory Road, The Lincoln Lawyer) enlist the help of Carroll to be the head of their racing team, where he would design and test cars. Carroll agrees and goes to the best driver he knows in Ken to help him. At a pay rate of $200 a day, it takes Ken little convincing to let Mollie agree to the job. The problem is that Ken doesn’t have the qualities of a Ford man, and Leo immediately lets him know of this. There is a power struggle between the two men, but Leo ultimately has the final say on who the driver will be.
To say things go differently than planned along the way would be incorrect despite this movie being pretty darn predictable from this point forward. Ken goes through a few tests that, if he passes them, can be Ford’s racer at Le Mans. The best part of the movie is the characters. Each is crafted with unique characteristics, perfected by Mangold. The key players are discernable. That isn’t always the case in many movies, let alone sports movies. Our heroes are Carroll, Ken, and fellow mechanic Phil (Ray McKinnon – Mud, The Blind Side). Our antagonist isn’t Ferrari but rather Leo, who is so bent on not having the driver and team that he wants that it almost seems that he wants his own company to lose. He provides nothing but roadblocks while providing little support. Lee is great as the man who toes the line between a company man and a man who wants to see his plan executed into action.
As good as the sub-characters are, this show belongs to Damon and Bale. Both have never been better. Damon needed a hit. His last real box office and critical success was 2015’s The Martian. That’s a long for one of Hollywood’s leading men who has the less than stellar Jason Bourne, Suburbicon, Downsizing, and The Great Wall to his credits between The Martian and Ford v Ferrari. His steady performance contrasted perfectly with the erratic Ken and his distinguishable nuances. In a career that keeps improving, Bale’s performance of Ken is one of his more memorable (which is saying a lot). He’ll be in contention for a Best Supporting Actor nomination.
The visuals were just okay. None of the driving was CGI, but I still felt like I wasn’t a part of these races, as I felt like I could have been. The Le Mans race also has a different feeling than a typical race. I also am not sure I understand all of the race rules. It is unclear how it is determined which drivers race and when. Ken swapped out with another unidentifiable driver. And it was never really explained. The ending, while accurate, was cheesy. The music felt very 1960s and gave the movie a friendly and light feel. This certainly wasn’t a heavy drama but a good family movie. It’s rated PG13, but it’s applicable for students older than 10. I sat next to some kids of that age, and they were engaged the whole time despite its 151-minute run-time.
Plot 9/10
Character Development 10/10
Character Chemistry 10/10
Acting 9.5/10
Screenplay 8.5/10
Directing 9/10
Cinematography 8.5/10
Sound 8/10
Hook and Reel 10/10
Universal Relevance 9/10
91.5%
B+
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Good stuff BB!