Just got out of this movie about an hour ago. This is my favorite film of the year.
There's so much to digest in what is a simple, straightforward plot. Ford wants to reignite their lagging sales by winning one of the biggest auto races in the world against a juggernaut of racing, Ferrari. In order to do so, they assemble a team of engineers and gear heads whose sole focus is building the fastest car they can build and finding the best driver to drive it. Simple premise, no crazy twists, nothing elaborate or bombastic, and it is engaging as hell.
The movie ran the gamut of emotions from joy to fear to sadness. There's laughter, there's tears, stand up a cheer movie moments, there's a level of poignancy where you just sit back and fold your arms and shake your head and say "damn, now where has this been in movies?" You can almost feel a sense of pride from the folks who were working on this film in what they were making, and this is something that seems to always be present in every James Mangold film. The performances are phenomenal, and yet somehow they feel like the least amazing thing about this film. The direction of Mangold, the screenwriting, the racing cinematography, the sound, the editing, the pacing of the story, the production value. Jeez, I could literally go on and on to say how well put together the film is, but beyond that, yes, those performances were lights out. Bale kills it. He is one of the premier actors of our generation. Matt Damon is perfect as usual and turns in one of his more solid performances in years. Josh Lucas of course plays the villain of the film and has basically mastered the art of being an a-hole in just about everything he does. One thing I will point everyone I speak about this movie to: the last 45 mins to hour of the film. This was just film making at its most sublime. Plot, pacing, pay offs, hero moments, villain moments, everything builds to a crescendo and finishes with panache. I hear folks say Rush was a better racing movie, but I think they are just trying not to be prisoners of the moment. Ford v Ferrari is superior in my opinion.
10/10