An exhilarating ride!

Rating: 9/10 (17 November 2019)

James Mangold is a great director and has given us amazing films like Walk the Line and his last film Logan which has impressed us immensely. His newest film, Ford v Ferrari, is another entertaining and well made film that adds to Mangold's filmography.
Ford v Ferrari tells the story of car designer Carroll Shelby and driver Ken Miles who build a race car for Ford in order to defeat Ferrari at the 24 hour race known as Le Mans in 1966.
This movie is one of the best of the year which audiences and car enthusiasts will enjoy throughout. You can tell how much care and effort was put into this project once you watch the film. The racing sequences were really well shot and a blast to witness. None of it felt fake or seemed like a CGI fest because of how practical everything seemed. It must have been really difficult to film those scenes but the crew pulled it off beautifully. The overall look of the movie was gorgeous. It really captured the essence of the time period this film is set in which contributed to the authenticity of everything shown.
The acting from everyone was amazing. Matt Damon gives a solid performance and his partner in crime, Christian Bale, also provides the same result. Both stars have great chemistry with each other and are a joy to see. Jon Bernthal was also great as well as the rest of the supporting cast.
The film clocks in at 2 hours and 30 minutes but it didn't feel like that all. The first half did drag a little bit as it mainly consisted of business meetings and proposals but it doesn't affect the pacing much. Once the racing starts, the time flies. James Mangold does an excellent job directing especially during the racing scenes which flowed well and was easy to watch. He adds a level of intensity to them through the visuals rather than using loud music or crazy slo-mo which I admire. The screenplay had great moments of character and a surprising amount of funny dialogues. Not once did it feel boring.
I have to admit I wasn't expecting Ford v Ferrari to be THIS good! The characters were engaging, the acting was spot on, the races felt intense and the aesthetics were great. If this film were to be nominated at the Oscars, I wouldn't mind. Hats off to everyone who worked on the movie as they gave it their all.