I was looking forward to see this movie when it was scheduled to premier on Friday. Unfortunately once again my favorite Dolby Atmos studio was having an event at around 7 PM and no shows were available during that time. My wife and I ended up seeing this one only yesterday at that studio. Anyway, I'll go on with the movie now.
Brief Story Line
Set in the early 1960s, Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon - The Adjustment Bureau, The Great Wall etc) was the owner of automobile manufacturer Shelby American. When Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts - Lady Bird, The Post etc) wanted to create a new race car for Ford capable of winning the Le Mans and beat their competitor Ferrarri, he assigned one of his executive Lee Iacocca (John Bernthal - The Punisher TV series, Baby Driver etc) to engage Shelby with this difficult task.
Shelby only wanted to cooperate if he had his trusted driver/mechanic Ken Miles (Christian Bale - The Dark Knight trilogy, The Machinist etc) as part of his team. However, he got the challenge from another Ford executive Leo Beebe (Josh Lucas - Poseidon, Life as We Know It etc). Ken Miles himself was supported by his wife Mollie (Caitriona Balfe - Money Monster, Outlander TV series etc) and his young son Pete (Noah Jupe - A Quiet Place etc).
So would Shelby and Miles able to create such car and win the Le Mans race? Find them in this extraordinary amazing sports drama movie.
So would Shelby and Miles able to create such car and win the Le Mans race? Find them in this extraordinary amazing sports drama movie.
End of Brief Story Line
I was aware that the movie had garnered a lot of positive reviews prior to me watching it. But I did not realize it was that good until I finished seeing it. It was a real blast, a wonderfully written story and I think one of the most emotional sports drama I had ever seen. From the start to finish there was never a dull moment. Even when the story was focusing on the people behind the creation of this race car, it was always kept interesting.
The movie was having a duration of 152 minutes which was longer than average but amazingly I did not feel it to be too long. I think it was the great job of the director James Mangold who had directed several successful movies like Logan, The Wolverine, Walk the Line and few others to keep the film interesting throughout the whole time. Not only did he manage to make the dramatic part nice to see, but he was also able to make the driving sequence suspenseful and made the audience felt all the emotions and rooting for the lead stars.
Talking about the stars, this movie was also great due to the performances of both Matt Damon and Christian Bale. I like Damon's portrayal as the famous Carroll Shelby as well as Bale's amazing part as the beloved Ken Miles. Their on screen relationship was really convincing and a joy to see (that scene in front of Miles' house was one of my favorite). They seemed to be complimenting each other which made it so enjoyable to watch. Apart from these 2 male leads, the rest did their job adequately with Josh Lucas in particular provided a good "villain-like" performance as the counter balance of Damon & Bale.
The movie was having a duration of 152 minutes which was longer than average but amazingly I did not feel it to be too long. I think it was the great job of the director James Mangold who had directed several successful movies like Logan, The Wolverine, Walk the Line and few others to keep the film interesting throughout the whole time. Not only did he manage to make the dramatic part nice to see, but he was also able to make the driving sequence suspenseful and made the audience felt all the emotions and rooting for the lead stars.
Talking about the stars, this movie was also great due to the performances of both Matt Damon and Christian Bale. I like Damon's portrayal as the famous Carroll Shelby as well as Bale's amazing part as the beloved Ken Miles. Their on screen relationship was really convincing and a joy to see (that scene in front of Miles' house was one of my favorite). They seemed to be complimenting each other which made it so enjoyable to watch. Apart from these 2 male leads, the rest did their job adequately with Josh Lucas in particular provided a good "villain-like" performance as the counter balance of Damon & Bale.
As a sports biography drama which not only showed the effort in creating the race car, the race sequence were definitely the main attraction for me as well. I might not have been following formula 1 race closely but I know enough of the automobile producers and racers mentioned in this movie, so it was nice to see them in the actual events in the 60s. Oh I also like the 60s settings with the costumes, cars, hair styles etc in here which were seriously done. The music background was a great addition to this movie and the Dolby Atmos system was perfect as it gave a wonderful life-like experience during the racing scenes.
Finally this was an awesome experience for me and my wife. We saw this at the 3 PM show when we would usually feel a bit sleepy (especially after we went out since morning which made us felt tired), but due to its interesting premise, we were fresh until the end of the movie. Btw it did not have any mid or post end credit scenes. I love the acting, the way the story was told, the race scenes, the drama, the brief humor and the ending. The story was based on real events but the dramatization was done in such a manner that it did not feel like documentaries. So if you are looking for a special kind of sports biography drama with the above qualities, then look no more and see this in the cinema near you. But if you prefer to see a full racing movie, then beware that this is not such kind of film. The choice is yours.
Mike's movie moments rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
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