Get behind the wheel

For those who love car films but are perhaps tired of the formulaic The Fast and the Furious movies, Ford v Ferrari will be a welcome change.

It’s the sixties, and Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts) has had it with Enzo Ferrari (Remo Girone) and his fast, flashy cars. He and cronies such as Lee Iacocca (Jon Bernthal) and Leo Beebe (Josh Lucas) decide to send a message to the world that Ford isn’t just about family cars. The plan is to win races and appeal to a younger demographic by rolling out sporty Mustangs and the like.

Enter Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon), a former race car driver turned designer and salesman. Ford hires Shelby to come up with a car that can beat Ferrari, namely at the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans in France.

It’s a tall order, and it calls for a crazy guy behind the wheel. Ken Miles (Christian Bale) is a rule-breaking Brit who can drive as well as provide instant feedback on what alterations need to be made to make the damn thing go faster. His lack of convention causes Ford to bristle, Shelby gets in the middle, and we have ourselves a gripping tale about racing technology, volatile friendships and corporate clashes.

If you are coming to this film for glorious depictions of high-stakes auto racing, you will not be disappointed. Director James Mangold (Walk the Line) films in a way that makes you feel every gear shift, every hairpin turn, and every skid toward potential destruction.

Damon and Bale are very good as two longtime pals who have no problem expressing themselves—even if it’s via a punch in the face—and always have each other’s backs.

There’s a lot of car talk, and credit goes to writers Jez and John-Henry Butterworth and Jason Keller for teaching without boring or overwhelming non-gearheads with with too much technical talk. (I walked out of this movie knowing about hot brakes and how they affect a driver’s chances to win a race.)

The final sequence at the Le Mans endurance race is a superbly conducted balance of the technical and the dramatic. This is a movie that will please racing fans, as well as those who couldn’t care less about automobiles in any setting. It also makes Vin Diesel and company look like a total posers.