This film is the definition of fun experience

Rating: 8/10 (19 November 2019)

From the director of "Logan", "Walk the Line" and "Identity" comes a true story about Ford's attempt to take Ferrari from the throne of Le Mans.
This film is an embodiment of a careless and fun experience. Because of the perfect pacing, the film manages to keep you engaged and entertained for 2 and a half hours.
This film could be separated into two sections. The first one is a preparation for the minor races and the big finale. The second section would be racing itself. The first two acts are about the relationship between Damon's and Bale's characters. Although, it's not anything new or spectacular, their relationship was very well executed and you could've believed that they were good friends. They didn't show that at all times, but you could feel it because of the tight script which elevated both of their characters. Besides their relationship, the film focuses a lot on a behind the scene conflicts in a Ford company. Yet again, because of the script that ended up being very interesting. The rest of the film focuses on a racing, and I was actually surprised by how much runtime racing took. The grand finale takes almost a whole third act, and because of the way it was filmed, you don't even notice that. When the film gives you the opportunity to immerse yourself into a racing contest, it doesn't let go of you. That brings us to the best part of the film, and that was the way it was filmed, and also the whole production design. It's impressive that they managed to almost completely avoid the usage of CGI. Instead, they shoot the racing sequences in the cars whilst driving. When you're shooting that in a practical way, it's easier to get the audience invested. You notice appealing camera angles, immersive sound design, production design and all the details that went into designing this film. One of the reasons why did they choose that approach is James Mangold, who is the creator of that idea. He had a vision and he accomplished to achieve it. He's slowly becoming one of the most versatile directors working today. He touched almost every genre there is, and yet, he did not make a terrible film so far. Besides his visual decisions, he managed to pull out incredible performances from the whole cast. Matt Damon and Christian Bale were incredible. Damon in a bit subtle role and Bale in a showier role, both of them delivered. It's a shame that both of them are being campaigned for a leading category at the Oscars, so they are probably going to cancel each other's votes, but nonetheless, they were at the top of their game. Besides them, I would like to compliment Jon Bernthal, who in his short time on the screen put a damn good performance.
This film is definitely one of the better technical achievements of this year. If you're interested in seeing this film, check it out whilst it's still in cinemas. Watching it in cinemas certainly elevates the experience, and it emphasizes the huge amount of attention to details.