No. 31. (2020) FORD V FERRARI May 29th.

Film No. 31 (2020)  May 29th.  7:35 PM.  FOX On DEMAND, Living Room  Mt. Hawthorn. W.A. 

"Then how long did you tell them you needed? Two or three hundred years?". (Ken asks Carroll for the deadline Ford had set him to develop a car).

Yet another tribute film. Ford v Ferrari tells the tale, in reasonably simplistic terms, of how Ford, under the leadership of the sometimes maligned Henry Ford II, developed a car that beat Ferrari using unconventional means in what was considered the Grand Prix of endurance racing, 24 hour Le Mans. The film never veers from the legend surrounding how this was achieved. Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and Ken Miles (Christian Bale) represented the unconventional means to the end. They weren't Ford men. Shelby a man of "never say die" spirit and Bale a testy but flawed genius both behind the wheel, and tinkering under the bonnet, changed Ford's brand for ever. The film adopts more of a Rocky than a Chariots of Fire feel. It's entertaining, cliched and simply clunky at times. Bale proves his worth eventually but his English accent had me chuckling initially. However the chemistry he achieves with Damon has us cheering, then reaching for the tissues as the screen fades to black. The final bibliographical titles make for interesting reading, so don't start clearing your popcorn containers too early. I'm not sure it was Academy (2019) nominee material but it was a fun ride. 9GUMS.