Ford v Ferrari is probably one of my favorite movies of the year, a great mix of high-adrenaline racing and excellent acting by both Matt Damon and Christian Bale.
Ford v Ferrari
(2019)
Genre(s): Drama, Sports
Fox | PG13 – 152 min. – $37.99 | February 11, 2020
Date Published: 02/21/2020 | Author: The Movieman
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Fox provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 4.5/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: American automotive designer Carroll Shelby (MATT DAMON) and fearless British race car driver Ken Miles (CHRISTIAN BALE) battle corporate interference, the laws of physics and their own personal demons to build a revolutionary vehicle for the Ford Motor Co. Together, they plan to compete against the race cars of Enzo Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in 1966. Review: Ford v Ferrari is a sports-drama that initially feared didn’t nearly have enough story to fill the nearly two and a half hour running time. Glad I was wrong. This is a whip-lash film that, thanks to filming practically, places audiences right in the middle of the races, so everything feels authentic in an age where CGI tends to over utilized. Sometimes it’s fine for some schlocky action movie (the Fast and Furious franchise comes to mind), but for a true story movie like this, nice to see them go a bit old school (at least for the car races, the crowds of course were computer generated). Not only did I find the plot compelling, even somewhat knowing the outcome (think I had watched some short documentary years ago), but this is a tour-de-force of acting by two pros, Matt Damon and Christian Bale, the former I truly believed was deserving of a Best Actor or Supporting Actor nomination, though Bale, as usual, is great and transformative, wouldn’t surprise me if he did a deep-dive to get the real Ken Miles’s cadence and mannerisms as close as possible. The film might not boast a recognizable supporting cast, but does feature Jon Bernthal as the head of Ford’s marketing team and Josh Lucas, still stuck playing the a-hole part, guess he just has that kind of face… Both do fine, but I did like Bernthal playing a character helping Shelby’s team while Lucas played a corporate hack/stooge. Directed by James Mangold (Logan, 3:10 to Yuma), Ford v Ferrari is based on a true story and like most of these, some liberties were taken some more egregious than others, most notably where the Ford executives refused to send Miles to Le Mans, apparently was put in to add some more drama and conflict; however, doesn’t really effect the film’s quality, but does seem like an unnecessary embellishment. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.75/5 |
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This release comes with a slick, title-embossed slip cover. Inside is a Digital HD redemption code containing two exclusive featurettes: The 24-Hour Le Mans: Recreating the Course and Pre-vis Sequences breaking down the pre-visualization sequences for the Daytona and Le Mans races. Brining the Rivalry to Life (59:52) is split into 8-parts looking at the process of making this true story movie and looks at the real life counterparts, as well as the central Ford GT40 racing car. Also includes two Theatrical Trailers (4:56). |
VIDEO – 4.75/5 |
| Ford v Ferrari revs onto Blu-ray presented with a 1080p high-definition transfer and shown in the original 2.39 widescreen aspect ratio. This is a great looking picture, detail is sharp, both on the close-ups and some mid-distant shots, colors are in keeping with the 1950s setting and black levels appear stark. There were no noticeable or obvious signs of artifacts, aliasing or other flaws. |
AUDIO – 4.75/5 |
| The DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track is absolutely powerful. Dialogue comes through with good clarity, but where this really shines are during the racing sequences, more specifically the La Mans race, putting audiences right in the middles of the action, being able to feel the revving of the engines and some of the chaos in the pit. That being said, this perhaps isn’t quite reference quality work, although I would imagine the Atmos track on the 4K release has a tad more depth, but likely not by much. |
OVERALL – 4.5/5 |
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Ford v Ferrari is probably one of my favorite movies of the year, a great mix of high-adrenaline racing and excellent acting by both Matt Damon and Christian Bale. Whether or not you’re interested in the history behind the rivalry, though the focus is more internal within Ford, this is well worth checking out. This Blu-ray release offers incredible video/audio transfers and an okay set of bonus material. |