K.T Simpson
Grip that imaginary steering wheel in front of you and rev your engine folks, This film has plenty of drive! In the realm of “Days of Thunder” – fleshed out into a epic – “Ford V Ferrari” is one of 2019’s best films, and takes the biopic to the next level in an action-packed saga full of award-winning performances.
It’s the 1960s, and automobile mogul Ford is on the brink of collapse, so the CEO of the company, Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts), looks to the Marketing Executives for some fresh ideas to launch Ford back into the forefront of consumer consideration. With competitors such as Porsche and Ferrari taking their cars to the racetrack, Ford sees potential in sports cars, and approach Enzo Ferrari (Remo Girone) for a merger that would change the course of racing. Led by Leo Beebee (Josh Lucas) and Lee Iacocca (Jon Bernthal), the deal falls flat on its face and the embarrassment leads them to seek help from Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon), an American automotive designer and engineer.
Shellby and the team set their sights on building a car that will rival Ferrari in the ’24 Hours of Le Mans’ – the world’s oldest active sports car endurance race. With Ferrari dominating the race for 5 years straight, Shellby and Ford not only have to build a car fast enough to beat them, but find a driver capable of managing said car.
Enter Ken Miles (Christian Bale), an English sports car racing engineer and driver, whose attitude is the only thing that negatively portrays his image as an incredible wealth of knowledge of what’s behind the wheel. Shellby enlists Miles to be the man to take on the newly built Ford sports car, and bring it to the Le Mans, excited to leave Ferrari shaking in their boots.
“Ford V Ferrari” is strap-yourself-in action and entertainment from the time the movie starts. Not only is the story enthralling, but the race scenes are so edge-of-your seat that you’ll find yourself reaching for your seatbelt, feeling like you’re behind the wheel with the drivers. Where it truly excels, though, is the lineup of actors that grace the screen in its 150min runtime (which flies by as quickly as a lap at Daytona).
Lucas is an incredibly gripping ‘villain’ in “Ford V Ferrari”, and Bernthal is ever-reliable as his right-hand-man – saying much more with his eyes than with his mouth. Damon is always a performance that shines on the screen. Noah Jupe plays Mills’ son, and delivers an adorable and emotional performance that gives more heart to the Miles family. But it’s Bale that is the Oscar-worthy actor in “Ford V Ferrari”, with a performance that reminds us all of how damn versatile this guy is. His believable portrayal of Miles is one of the most intriguing elements of the film, and one that should get the actor recognition come awards season. His chemistry with Damon works perfectly, and the ‘bromance’ they share is inspiring and just plain adorable.
“Ford V Ferrari” is the entertaining and exciting film that you need in your life right now – if it doesn’t get your heart racing as the sports cars speed around the track, we guarantee you’ll be gripped by the beautiful, interesting and heart-warming story that lies beyond the drive. See it if you love cars, see it if you love a good story – or just see it if you need a couple of hours to tune out the world and enjoy a well-told story with an incredible cast.
