A Masterful Account of the Chronicles of Ford v. Ferrari

Rating: 8/10 (24 November 2019)

It is the 1960s, Ferrari is reigning as king of race cars, while Ford has gained a reputation for mass production of uniform road machines. When a buyout goes sour, the biggest grudge match, or the longest, is about to catch the world by surprise.
As someone unaware of the dramatics of the racing world, I hesitated about going into the cinema for it. Ford v. Ferrari already sounds like a pissing contest between corporates. Well, it definitely is something of that nature, except the backstory and the act itself proves to be much more thrilling than you'd imagine. The amount of 1960s corporate suits didn't bother me at all. The cast is stellar, without a doubt, Matt Damon is so incredibly in control of his talent, capable of convincing the audience he IS Carroll Shelby, even if Damon himself is not a car guy at all. This says much about how good the screenplay is, based on a book of all real events. Christian Bale is as usual, on a ride with his A-game. The distinct mannerism of the racing Hall of Famer Ken Miles is immortalized through Bale's careful craft, borne of his unshakable dedication to the art of cinema. In fact, the whole cast shines so brightly through the movie, from Josh Lucas, Jon Bernthal to Outlander's Caitriona Balfe, each woven into the main narrative in an organic yet unneglectable way without much drag or distraction. Also, using all real racing cars instead of SFX for the important car racing scenes definitely pays off on the big screen. The camera angles are brilliant in capture those 200 million-dollar cars in motion. As a girl, I love the racing segments!
More than just a car movie, the 2.5 hours boasts with comedy, thrills, and dramatic revelations that in the end, all make sense during the climax. To me, there wasn't a moment wasted, and my second viewing became even more entertaining, ripe with "a-ha" moments. I am definitely gonna pick up the book it's based on, Go Like Hell by A. J. Baime. Can I also just note how wonderful the soundtracks are? Without a doubt, the engine sound is probably more center-stage in the film, making the just-right amount of epic score and songs much appreciable along the way.