Movie review: Ford v Ferrari shows the endless drive for success

It may be called Ford v Ferrari, but this is really the story of Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles.

During the 1960s, a failed business deal between Ford and Ferrari prompts Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts), the CEO of Ford, to build a car that will defeat Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race.

To achieve this goal, though, Ford will need a team of passionate engineers and designers. Leading the crew is American automotive designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon), with the hot-tempered Ken Miles (Christian Bale) as his driver.

As if designing a new racing car from scratch wasn’t hard enough, Shelby and Miles will also have to deal with the overbearing executives at Ford, who seem to second-guess nearly every decision made by the team.

Damon and Bale both deliver some spectacular performances in this film.

Not only do they brilliantly capture the struggles their characters endure, but they also manage to portray a wonderful friendship between Shelby and Miles.

Some of the best scenes simply involve the two men bickering or bouncing ideas off each other.

That being said, the racing in this movie is top-notch.

It’s shot in such a way that you’re able to keep up with the high-octane action of the race without ever getting overwhelmed with a dizzying feeling.

On the downside, Ford v Ferrari can feel a bit long at times due to it having to squeeze in the events of several years into a single movie.

Thankfully, the performances and the racing sequences are more than enough to prevent you from getting bored.

Overall, I’d definitely recommend checking this out at the cinema. Whether you’re a race car fan or not, you’re sure to get some entertainment out of this film.

 4 out of 5 stars

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RATING: M

RUNNING TIME: 152 MINS