Pros:
1.) For a movie about racing, you expect there would be some racing. There are, and they are glorious to watch. The movie puts alongside the drivers when they are racing around the tracks, and you can somewhat feel the rush on how fast they are going and how quickly they have to react when they turn and swerve. The thrill of the race is strong, and thanks to the cinematography, the movie showed it well.
2.) I do like how the movie explores not only the racing cars and its people but also its industry, particularly Ford. There are people who love to not only make cars but, also drive fast cars. On the other side, there are people who are only interested in competition and make themselves look good for everyone. These two conflict with each other while they have to deal with their competitor: the Ferraris in these races. Great overall conflicts, especially how it affects the main leads…
3.) …As for the main leads, I like these two conflict with each other due to their personalities, especially Christian Bale as Ken Miles. Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby would love to continue racing, but due to his heart condition, he is unable to do so anymore, so he has to rely on Ken Miles for racing, but he is difficult to work with due to his perfectionist racing style. His pride affects everyone, especially the Ford manufacturers and marketers. I like what he ends up learning in the end, and also coincides with Shelby’s conflict with Ford and Ferrari. I like these two leads, but Ken Miles is the most interesting of the two.
Cons:
1.) The first act goes on for way too long. It establishes many things from the conflicts to the characters, but it goes on for so long, I was wondering when these planning and races are going to start already. I get that it starts off with the Ford industry planning to take on the Ferrari industry with the car races, but I already got the picture and I was getting impatient. I swear that the first act is longer than the second act. The movie should lose some of these first act scenes, then it should go swimmingly.
2.) What bothers me in the second act is that there are few tells, don’t show moments. There is one moment when you hear an integral race…on a radio. While it does show Ken Miles being serious on his work while he is listening to that race, it would be so much better that they show it just like the movie did in the final two races. In fact, after that, the movie has to explain what happened in that race without showing it. That is kind of insulting, and I do not know why they did that. “Show, don’t tell.” That is the biggest rule in filming.
3.) There is one big disadvantage and it is more my fault and for a certain group of people: many of the terms by these car racers and drivers go way over my head. The movie does a decent job giving a basic idea of what is happening, but I sometimes cannot understand what these guys are talking about when they explain RPMs or certain vehicle mechanics. This movie is aimed more for these types of people, so if you are one of those people who do not truly understand these terms, you may not enjoy it as much as the car fans.
Overall:
Once again catching up to some old movies in 2019, here is Ford v Ferrari, which is nominated for Best Picture in the Oscars alongside most of the other films I have seen (besides The Irishman, which I will get to eventually). I can see why many people do like this movie, but due to certain areas, I cannot say I feel the same way. I do like racing, the characters, and the story behind them, but other areas like my lack of car racing knowledge and how much time they spend on certain plot lines did not make this movie better for me. Perhaps car racing fans will like this movie better than me because I certainly do not see myself being the target audience, but I do like other aspects of the movie, so I can acknowledge that it is good. This race is not for me, but for others who are interested may certainly enjoy this need for speed.
7/10
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