Ford v. Ferrari reviews

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Mister Tee
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Re: Ford v. Ferrari reviews

Post by Mister Tee »

I regret to say I share Sabin' opinion (not to say I regret agreeing with him, but that I regret having to have the opinion). This is a far less interesting movie than I expected, based on the reviews and Mangold's previous work. It became clear early on it was going to be "cool rebels fighting the man", and some of the set-up worked (notably the meeting with Ferrari in Italy). But the bulk of the film was played at too broad a level, with all too predictable reversals and counter-reversals -- Bale won't be allowed to drive...but then he WILL be allowed to; who'd have guessed? (Apart from anybody who reads the cast list.) The worst of the film is Josh Lucas' character, who announces himself as chief villain in his introductory scene, and somehow manages to top himself in sleaziness every moment of the film, ending with a kind of silly last-second track outcome that may be actual but came off way hokey. The only real narrative surprise is that the film doesn't end with the shot of Bale/Damon walking off the track into the sunset (a shot I feel like I've seen end a hundred movies); but then, I'm not quite sure what was added by the film's last 15 minutes -- it felt like the epilogue of a different movie from the one I'd been watching.

And, as I believe Sabin said below, there isn't even anything special about the racing scenes. Maybe it's just because I'd become so bored with the story by then, but I found the endless loops around the track strictly repetitive and without visual or narrative interest. Honestly, I think you could edit in some shots from Grand Prix and it wouldn't have been that noticeable.
Sabin
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Re: Ford v. Ferrari reviews

Post by Sabin »

I could go on about the things that bothered me about Ford v. Ferrari: everyone is so exaggerated; the under-dramatization of this *important* friendship between Damon and Bale; the miscasting of Matt Damon, who goes for Texas caricature when he is supposed to be an audience surrogate with an education plot; the unimaginatively-shot racing scenes... At the end of the day, it just didn't make me care. Even Christian Bale's son doesn't seem to understand what he's supposed to be rooting for or against at the end in a strange bit of meta-critique.

But what struck me the most about this is was how utterly themeless it is. Two and a half hours and not a thing to say about racing. Who’s story is this? What are we supposed to feel or learn? By the end, I felt as though I’d seen nothing except a thing that happened.
"How's the despair?"
Mister Tee
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Ford v. Ferrari reviews

Post by Mister Tee »

Mostly solid, though those of us who remember Rush being similarly touted might be wary.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/revie ... ew-1235888

https://variety.com/2019/film/reviews/f ... 203319686/
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