For racing fans, motorheads and history buffs. Movie making as it should be.

Rating: 8/10 (1 January 2020)

F you didn't know who Carroll Shelby was, you don't know about car racing or about automotive performance, period. I didn't know who Kenneth Henry Miles (Ken Miles) was before this movie, so that makes me almost as poor and would-be connoisseur as you, almost. Anyway, this movie is for us racing enthusiasts and also for those who enjoy a good movie, in that the performances of the actors, the script, the direction and technical aspects mesh so well that you get immersed in the story, fictional or not; this movie was not fictional, but almost mythical if you revere the sport of car racing. It still is an awesome movie if you're not a sports car buff, because it shines in depicting human personality and character.
The days when grand prix racing and endurance racing was as much about the iconic drivers as it was about the machines, and both made newspaper headlines, those days have changed. Rarely do either make headlines anymore, other than in specialty magazines. I can't say things have changed that much since the 60's with respect to the drivers but they sure were more demanding on them in that time in history than they are today; thanks to people like Jackie Stewart, the sport is driver safety aware where it was all about the speed and winning years ago.
That emotional drive to win was consuming for the rare few who were at the top of their game and that is what transpired for me in this movie. You'll see two men, Shelby and Miles, played respectively by Matt Damon and Christian Bale, who became best friends because they shared one thing that set both of them apart from others, even though their personalities were different, they were true professionals and the best. Movies are not made about people who aren't exceptional and this movie proves that point as much as it shows exceptional people are also very ordinary and like you and me in all other manners except for that thing which makes them exceptional.
A good movie should take you on an emotional ride, pun very much intended, and this one will do that. As movie reviews go, there are also best ones, and for that sort of review of 'Ford v Ferrari' check out Movie Reviews from the Dark by IMDb's own ferguson-6.