A Reel Review: FORD V FERRARI

From ROCKY to RUDY, and from MAJOR LEAGUE to WARRIOR, sports cinema has been the home to underdog stories since the beginning. Everyone loves to root for the little guy who has to overcome all odds and obstacles to earn some sort of victory at the end. There have been many variations of the story, although most follow a template of rise, fall, and rise again…and finding new ways to keep the story fresh is always a challenge. Such is the contest for James Mangold and FORD V FERRARI. 

In 1963, former race car driver and team owner Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon), and his driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale), are recruited by the Ford Motor Company to design and build a race car to compete with, and beat the famed Ferrari race team at the 24 Hours of Le Mans; a grueling, 24-hour race which is a test of drivers and their machines. 

Motivations and obstacles are the key ingredients for any underdog story. For Shelby, this is a chance at doing something great on the racetrack again, as his career was cut short due to a medical condition. For Ken, it’s a means of supporting his wife and son as his career of racing on dirt tracks isn’t quite cutting it. Shelby and Ken are pulled in by Ford, led by Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts), who is pissed off at being insulted by Ferrari. 

While Shelby and Ken’s motivations are simple, they are clear and they work…and they have many obstacles to overcome. Building a car from scratch is one, and building one that can last 24 hours of punishment is another. All this has to be done despite corporate meddling from Ford, led by pain-in-the-ass brown-noser executive Leo Beebe (Josh Lucas), who has ideas rooted in public relations in how to run the team and the race. It all comes together nicely, and despite the territory being familiar, FORD V FERRARI lands as a very human story with just enough stakes for us to care. 

When director James Mangold isn’t putting his characters into one pickle or another, he’s filming some excellent racing scenes. Shot with a combination of green-screen, CGI, and practical driving, the speed and peril are there and really let us know what it’s like to sit in one of those early race cars, and the racing is flat-out thrilling and terrifying. The film’s pacing is brisk, and humor spread out nicely with some genuine laugh-out-loud moments. 

Acting is superb. Christian Bale is having a blast, and Matt Damon shows the strain his character is going through nicely…even though his southern accent comes and goes. Caitriona Balfe turns in a very good performance as Ken’s wife, and Josh Lucas pulls off a great bad guy role. Jon Bernthal plays Lee Iacocca and shows some range, and Noah Rupe, as Ken’s son, is also very good. 

The long build-up to the climax, the 24 Hours of Le Mans race, is more than worth it as the final race/showdown itself has a great payoff, and is thirty minutes or more of adrenalin-rush fun. The film then tacks on an un-necessary 15 minutes of prologue, which could have been taken care of in a post-script before the credits, and makes the finish of the race feel anti-climactic. It’s a minor scratch in a movie that shines. FORD V FERRARI is fantastic from start to finish. 

BOTTOM LINE: See it