Movie fails to measure up to other highly anticipated releases
“Ford v Ferrari” is a movie based on the real-life story of Carrol Shelby (Matt Damon) and Ken Miles (Christian Bale) and their efforts to build a Ford car to beat the dominant Ferrari in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This is a fun movie full of action revolving around fast cars and bold drivers.
The review
The big piece to know about this movie is that it is good, plain fun. There’s plenty of action, witty one-liners and awesome shots to keep the audience smiling throughout.
This is a very good movie. However, I have one issue with it. There were three big movies I was considering in the latter half of this year (other than “Star Wars,” but that’s in its own category), “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood…,” “The Joker,” and “Ford v Ferrari.”
Two of these movies were great and one was good. “Ford v Ferrari” was the only one I didn’t walk away thinking it was an instant classic. It might not be fair to compare these movies though, as “Ford v Ferrari” was still very good.
Beyond its fun action, it was well written, had good acting, enough awesome car shots to make a whole other movie and much, much more.
Regardless, it’s only the third-best movie to release since July and that could change after the release of the much anticipated and highly raved “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” drops.
This movie is definitely a recommended watch, but there are few others out there to watch before you get to this one.
Overall, I give this movie a 7.5/10.
The plot summary (NO spoilers)
The story of “Ford v Ferrari” plays over course of a couple of years in the mid-60s.
Early on we find that over the past several years, Ferrari and their racing team have been dominating a race known as the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The race is a short loop through the countryside of France that cars and their drivers must make as many times as the can in 24 hours.
Ferrari’s success in this race doesn’t sit well with Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts), the current owner of Ford Motor Company, so the plan is hatched to build a car that can beat Ferrari at the next La Mans.
To do this, he gets Carrol Shelby, former racer and car designer, to handle this task. Shelby begins immediate work but not without the help of driver Ken Miles. Together the two start improving the car bit by bit, making it better and better each day.
A short time before the Le Mans, Ford executives headed by Leo Beebe (Josh Lucas) decide they won’t let Miles go with to France and drive because of his hot-headed attitude. Despite resistance from Shelby and all the work he had put in, the team goes to France without Miles.