A Fun Ride with Plenty of Bumpy ClichÃ©s in the Road

Rating: 7/10 (15 November 2019)

James Mangold's 'Ford v Ferrari' is a fun two-and-a-half hour ride down memory lane, circling the lives of legendary race car driver Ken Miles and equally esteemed car designer Carroll Shelby.
The film gets off to an uninspiring start, introducing the main characters using quick-hitting scenes that turn each into an eye-rolling archetype. Shelby is the inspired engineer. Miles is the irascible wildcard. Henry Ford II is the cutthroat Man of Industry ... and they even give him a sniveling bulldog lackey.
The second half of the film picks up the pace and is considerably more engaging. Mangold does a fine job filming the racing scenes, choosing just the right balance of different viewpoints and cuts. Beyond that, he thankfully spares audiences from the awful "shaky camera effect" that some filmmakers would've used anytime they wanted to ramp up the action on screen.
Given that the '24 Hours of Le Mans' race is indeed twenty-four hours long, Mangold also excels at keeping an even pace down the final stretch, not relying too much on either the racing or the off track drama, but rather striking an even balance between the two.