Vroom Vroom

Rating: 7/10 (28 February 2020)

I doubt auto racing can be made to be any more engaging to me than in this, which is to say I'm not fascinated by men in sports cars driving around in circles, but "Ford v Ferrari" is a ripsnorting ride. Despite its two-and-a-half-hours runtime, it's never dull, and the whiplash cutting and vroom-vroom sounds are wholly deserving of their Oscars. Casting two of the most likable actors around, Matt Damon and Christian Bale, both of who try on different accents, in the leads helps, too. The title, "Ford v Ferrari," winds up being rather misleading, though, as the picture shifts gears more along the lines of Ford suites v Ford gearheads. That at one turn, Henry Ford II frightfully weeps as a passenger in a race car suggests where the movie's sympathies rest in that competition. The pissing competition between two bosses of car manufacturers takes a backseat to this inter-corporate one-upmanship and even that is of less interest than chasing the adrenaline junkies speeding around corners and risking death for glory. Rather simplistic for a Best Picture Oscar nominee, although not for its technically splendid production, but it's undeniably popularly entertaining.