j* movie reviews 2020

Ford vs Ferrari (2020)

A quite charming and emotive piece of automotive history that gives you the feels as much as the wild ride.

First of all, this film has a few other titles. Americans might know it as "Le Mans 66." But in Australia where Ford vs Holden, or Hilux vs Toyota etc etc are both stickers and a way of life, it makes sense not to beat about the bush. So Ford vs Ferrari it is.

Basically its the story of two plucky blokey blokes, Matt Damon and Christian Bale and their assorted mechanical crew vs a bunch of madmen stylish suits determined to run a race by committee and marketing. There's a greater honour at stake here, in that both our main characters have served in the Great War, whilst the suits seem to have only shouldered suits, not guns.

Anyway, Ford (the company and Henry Ford 2nd) has decided it might be a good idea to get into racing. After failing to buy Ferarri they decide to flog them instead. Enter Matt Damon's retired driver and race runner Shelby and his cockney mate Ken Miles (Christian Bale). This is probably one of the most interesting roles I've ever seen Bale in. He plays troublesome but lovable driver who likes to go very, very fast.

It feels like a long movie, with a really emotional series of ups and downs for both the car companies and the humans involved. It takes its time getting anywhere and is a bit on the long side, at 2hr 32mins. There are some wild laps where you are in the drivers seat come crash or fire or whatnot. It spends a bit of time establishing some kind of racing lore around 7000 revs per minute... this idea that once you hit that you're just a body hurtling through space. It also establishes the dangers clearly.

The ending was pretty satisfying.

J* gives it 4 stars.