Review of Ford v Ferrari (2019) by Mrmoviebuff — 21 Nov 2019

It has become apparent to me that James Mangold is probably one of the most under-appreciated directors of our time. This is a filmmaker who has made some fascinating films and many people probably don't know they were by him.

From 'Walk the Line' (2005), '3:10 to Yuma' (2007) and even 'Logan' (2017), he has made some fantastic films, and has a very good eye in how he approaches his storytelling. Here, with 'Ford v Ferrari', he uses Matt Damon and Christian Bale (surely to get some Oscar consideration for his work) as the two leads to tell the story of how Carroll Shelby (Damon) persuades Ken Miles (Bale) to compete in a race against Ferrari by driving a Ford.

Shelby designs cars, and wants to team up with Ford to make the best race car possible. The big company knows that they can't remain financially stable if they keep making car after car. They need style and they need to keep up with competition, but most importantly, they need a reputation.

Shelby uses Miles as a way to promote the Ford race cars as he is clearly the best racer out there. Their friendship, their bond is what keeps this movie lifted throughout. The screenplay, written by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth and Jason Keller keeps these two central characters interesting when they're apart and when they're together.

They know that Damon and Bale can work around the dialogue and that their chemistry is vital to the story. The racing sequences are also some of the best you'll see on screen. This movie can get a little long from time to time, so it can be hard to keep interested, but the acting, the chemistry, the racing and just the overall drama, with hints of comedy sprinkled here and there, is enough to keep you invested.

It's sure enough that Bale will score another Oscar nomination for his work, hopefully, Mangold can get a "Best Director" nomination for his work here. It's a film and a story that deserves to be seen.