‘Ford v Ferrari’ is a high-octane feature

BY Ron and Leigh

Hey gear-heads, start your engines! Academy Award winners Matt Damon and Christian Bale are running on all cylinders in this fast and furious spectacle “Ford v Ferrari.” This is the true-life account of Ford’s challenge to build a race car and racing team from scratch to not only compete but win the ultimate race; the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Director James Mangold (“Wolverine”) delivers a high-octane feature as one of the best racing movies ever. With an abundant amount of racing footage (too much?), the movie tells of the 1960s rivalry between corporate titans Henry Ford II (the Deuce) and Enzo Ferrari, seeking bragging rights to satisfy their personal egos and corporate images.

Everybody loves an underdog story, especially when it includes American know-how and perseverance winning the day. Not many play that role better than Damon as Carroll Shelby, the only American to have won at Le Mans (1959). Forced to retire, due to angina, he created the Shelby Cobra, still one of the most iconic sports cars ever built.

Tasked with the goal of making Ford the first American car to win at Le Mans, Shelby enlists the help of hotheaded driver Ken Miles (Bale), a quirky 45-year-old Brit with a checkered career. This “beatnik” doesn’t seem to play well with others and doesn’t fit the Ford image. Miles asks Shelby, “You’re gonna build a car to beat Ferrari with a Ford? In how long, two, three hundred years?” Shelby flatly responds, “Ninety days.”

Together, they attempt to defy the laws of physics, their own personal demons and the half-fast corporate bureaucrats to build the revolutionary Ford GT40. Ford issued a blank check to this team at the urging of marketing director Lee Iacocca, who noted the baby boomers were the first generation of 17 year olds with money in their pockets and a need for speed and glamour not available in the ‘62 Ford Falcon.

Winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans would be a herculean effort requiring an orchestration of drivers, designers, mechanics and engineers to execute creatively and flawlessly. Engines and brakes overheat, gearboxes explode and drivers face extreme fatigue, especially while driving at night and in the rain. Unlike a drag race, it’s not pedal-to-the-metal. The driver needs a “mechanical sympathy” to know the car’s limits at all times.

The absorbing drama unfolds in between the exhilarating races at Willow Springs (CA), Daytona (FL), Sebring (FL), Riverside Raceway (CA) and Le Mans (France). The story has an old-fashioned feel but shown with state-of-the-art cinematography that brings the audience into the driver’s seat, especially when shown on the big screen.

With so much racing footage, motor-heads will welcome the adrenaline rush as if watching all 24 hours of the race; however, to others, it could become rather monotonous and tedious in what seems to be a bunch of loud cars endlessly going around in circles.

As most of us know the outcome of that infamous 1966 race, there is a lesser-known but intriguing surprise ending and an unexpected twist that redlines at 7,000 RPM, so stay tuned. Those more engrossed in this story might Netflix the 2016 documentary called “The 24 Hour War.” They say Ford and Ferrari were larger than life corporate titans but more important, Matt Damon and Christian Bale illustrate larger than life star power.

“Ford v Ferrari” is 152 minutes and rated PG-13 for some language and peril. Bale recently added 40 pounds to play Dick Cheney in “Vice,” then lost 70 pounds in eight months to play the lean Ken Miles. Bale took driving lessons from a friend of the real Ken Miles who told the studio, “Bale is hands-down the best actor I’ve ever trained.”

The real Lee Iacocca died just a few months ago at 94. In this film he developed the Mustang to change Ford’s image from dull family cars, noting, “James Bond doesn’t drive an American car.” The Deuce replies, “James Bond is a degenerate!” Maybe Iacocca should have countered, “Yeah, but nobody writes songs about Volvos.”

Ron’s Rating: A-
Leigh’s Rating: B