The Near Perfect Lap

Rating: 8/10 (4 November 2019)

Le Mans '66 is a fast paced thrill ride from beginning to end. It tells the story of how carol shelby and ken miles built a car that could beat Ferrari in 24hr race at Le Mans where they had won the previous 4 years. The biggest strength in this film is the chemistry between the cast, good performances all round from Josh Lucas to Ray McKinnon but the whole film hinges on the chemistry between the two leads. it delivers on that front with the highlights of the film being scenes with Damon & Bale genuinely feeling like two old friends bantering back & forth about cars. Matt Damon does a great job as Shelby but can't help be overshadowed by Christian Bale who steals the movie with his performance as ken miles a man on the journey to find that one perfect lap. James Mangold does a good job with the direction you feel the gear shifts & the tension when the Ford Gt40 screeches it's breaks around right corners. There could probably more ambitious or creative shots in some of the races but in my honest opinion I think the performances Mangold got out of this cast outshines the technical stuff. The writing isn't the best and can come off as cheesy & predictable in certain areas but for the most part I felt it was well written and had a good pace to it. I'd recommend Le Mans '66 it's not 1st place but it's a near perfect lap.