2019: The Year They Started Making Them Like They Used To Again

Rating: 8/10 (8 February 2020)

Ford v Ferrari is of a type. A certain brand of mainstream, middle America, crowd-pleasing movie about people that audiences love and critics begrudgingly accept. Movies of this type used to come around a few times a year, and they'd end up at the top of the box office at years end. That concept is completely foreign to an industry held hostage by giant TV series, custom made for a devoted but niche group of fans. We've forgotten that big blockbuster movies can be for everyone. Because for all the gibes about it being a "Dad Movie", Ford v Ferrari has the well-rounded, old-fashioned, slick, star-driven Hollywood entertainment that goes down smooth for anybody.
It makes an almost too perfect comparison with the movie's star car, the Ford GT40. Somewhere between its impersonal factory-made cohorts and its sophisticated and refined rivals is a solid, powerhouse machine built with rugged American drive and ingenuity.
From the acting, including one of Christian Bale's best ever performances and a series of surprisingly charismatic supporting work, to some of the most sensational racing scenes I've seen, Ford v Ferrari is strong filmmaking all the way through. Granted, mainstream Hollywood stuff like this inevitably smooths over a lot with cliche. We get a fair share of dopey dialogue and a particularly annoying child actor, but director James Mangold is too good to let the film succumb to its formula.
This is red-blooded, American, alpha-male excitement, of the kind we've come to forget even exists anymore. It's heartfelt enough, smart enough, and fun enough to make its standard issue underdog trappings feel genuine. And just like that, a huge swath of ignored audiences across America are heard again. Give us more movies like this!
85/100