Does exactly what it says on the tin. 5/10

Rating: 5/10 (26 March 2020)

Review: As I'm not a massive racing car fan, I wasn't over-excited about this movie, but the cast was impressive and the story was intriguing. The director portrayed the 60's period well, and the cars were amazing, but the whole racing car theme became a bit tedious after a while. All of the technical jargon went straight over my head, but the attention to detail, in terms of the cars and the tracks, was on point. The acting from Christian Bale (Ken Miles) and Matt Damon (Carroll Shelby) seemed average in my eyes, mainly because I didn't know the real-life characters that they were portraying, so I didn't know how accurate it was. With that aside, the chemistry between the characters was great, and there were some scenes, which didn't have anything to do with racing, which was enjoyable, but the main core of the movie seemed a bit too safe to me. There weren't any standout moments that stood out, and I wasn't left feeling that I wanted to find out more about the characters. I know that the' race is an important part of American history that will always be remembered, but I personally lost interest once Carroll and Ken joined forces. I did feel the intensity during the races, which made me stick with the two and a half hour movie, and I did find the ending quite shocking, but it's not the type of movie that I will be watching again. That's not to say that it's a bad film because it does exactly what it says on the tin, but it's just not my cup of tea. Average!
Round-Up: This movie was directed by James Mangold, who also brought you Heavy in 1995, Copland, Girl Interrupted, Kate & Leopold, Identity, Walk The Line, 3:10 to Yuma, Knight & Day, The Wolverine and Logan. He's due to direct 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea: Captain Nemo and the new Indiana Jones project, but with the Coronavirus in our midst, no one really knows what's going to happen to the upcoming projects that are in pre-production. Judging by his filmography, he has made some impressive movies to date, and with this movie going down well with critics worldwide, the only way is up for this established director. The only reason why I wasn't that impressed with this film was because of the subject matter, but it's well made and the box office takings prove that it was enjoyed by many.
Budget: $97.6million Worldwide Gross: $225.5million
Genre: Action, Biography, Drama, Sport Cast: Matt Damon, Christian Bale, Jon Bernthal, Caitriona Balfe, Josh Lucas, Noah Jupe, Tracy Letts, Remo Girone, Ray McKinnon, JJ Feild and Jack McMullen. 5/10