Movie – Ford v Ferrari

Movies Nov 21, 2019

Overview:

Ford tried to buy Ferrari in the 1960’s. Ferrari thought of it as an insult that ford wanted to buy them out even though they were in a dire situation. Ford wanted to expand into a racing scene properly. They thought what better way to capture that part of the market than purchasing the company that is not doing so well and has been winning a race called Le Mans that is a 24-hour race hosted in France on country roads. ~~take me home~~

Ferrari thought it was an insult to even attempt this with the way their proposal was written then proceeded to insult Ford. After Ford was directly insulted, it was decided that they will win the next Le Mans with their own racing car to prove a point to Ferrari.

One retired racer named Carroll Shelby who works for ford and won the Le Mans in the past was decided to be appointed to take charge of overseeing the R&D of this racing car that is believed to bring them victory and shove it to Ferrari’s disrespectful comments to Ford. Shelby knew that the car was only one part that compliments the racer. The driver behind the wheel that fully understands the car being driven is what will make the biggest difference.

This is where our other main character Ken Miles comes in. He is quite the curt character to say the least. After Shelby approached him with the offer to work and help in this endeavor, he accepts and the journey for how the car is changed and built begins.

All 3 parties, Ford corporate, Shelby and Miles are battling each other throughout the movie with political and business aspects being the forefront of the movie. Shelby was forced to deal with higher ups in corporate that are trying to force decisions onto him that he knew were not going to end with a good result. It showcased the mental tax and strain it can bring a person being as conflicted as he was. The problems are derived from Miles and his personality of never backing down when it comes to things he wants to say or do. Miles personality as described is hard to deal with at times but what he does bring force is results and that is shown throughout the movie. Throughout the movie Miles is shown why he is one of the most revered racers to date.

Visuals/Music:

All the visuals are good, everything is clean and well done. The cars at times were a bit eh since the cgi was pretty visible and didn’t always flow the smoothest with the rest of the world around but minor complaint, especially when compared to the story presented. The comparison to the real car and how it moves/acts compared to the cgi one is there and something to be aware of.

Music is good enough in that silence is used at appropriate times and I didn’t recognize any out of place music or times when something should have been changed. Same with sound effects, everything seemed good enough and no complaints.

Final Thoughts:

It’s a very good and well-done movie with the emotions conveyed a lot greater than I thought they were going to be initially going into the film. By the end Miles becomes a character that is very hard to hate. Sure, his personality to some may not be the best but the results speak for themselves. He simply speaks his mind and tells others around him exactly what’s on in the mind, no filter and I loved that.

One thing that could have been done better is when time skips happened throughout the film. There is no X time has passed messages or clearly shown date that you didn’t have to listen closely for/remember later and keep straight in your mind. Especially at the end, there was months of time passed but the way it is shown makes it feel like it could be months later but also could be a few days. Its not completely clear at times but still easy to follow what is going on.

I would recommend the film to those wanting to see racing and especially those wanting to know more about the Ford and Ferrari situation that happened since the movie covers it pretty well.