Ford vs Ferarri

[Greg]

It's a car movie. It's about racing at Le Mans. It's about powerful people whipping their dicks out to see whose is bigger. Lots of white men in this story. Not a lot of people of color or women.

And it is long. No scene gets left uncut. For god's sake we filmed all that racing and we are going to show it. And we had dumb expository dialogue that echoed what we had just seen on screen and assumed we weren't paying attention.

In the late 1960s Carol Shelby has to give up racing because of a heart condition. Ken Miles is an arrogant and over the hill race car driver who can't get sponsorship because of his attitude.  Meanwhile, the Ford motor company is looking for something to boost their sales and decide the answer is to get into racing. The three factors come together at LeMans.

The tale isn't particularly gripping but it is well done. The race scenes are exciting but there's a lot of them. Matt Damon does a good job as Shelby. Christian Bale plays prickly and arrogant very well as Ken Miles. 

It all leads up to a very compelling gut punch at the end. You know how this is going to turn out since it is told from an American perspective. But there is one shock.

No sword fights. But there is a nice fist fight between the two old race car drivers.

[Drunk Monk]

Ditto. Although we both enjoyed it more than we thought we would, mostly because the performances were solid. Christian & Matt are cool. Le Mans is a crazy race. Italians are menacing.

Total fail for the Bechdel test. The fist fight would've been better with swords. Not that it would have made a lick of sense but every fight is better with swords. Not DOOM recommended.

[Greg]

It's been HBO and I've been catching bits and pieces of it. It's engaging. It's a well told story.

[Drunk Monk]

And it is long. No scene gets left uncut. For god's sake we filmed all that racing and we are going to show it. And we had dumb expository dialogue that echoed what we had just seen on screen and assumed we weren't paying attention.

The tale isn't particularly gripping but it is well done. 

It's been HBO and I've been catching bits and pieces of it. It's engaging. It's a well told story.

I'm confused. Is it engaging or not particularly gripping? I suppose watching it in bits breaks up the length.

I did think the racing sequences would've been better on the big screen.

[Greg]

Oh, you want be to be consistent now. Haven't you learned anything?

It occurs to me some movies get better on second and third viewings. When you first see a movie, you have a lot of expectations based on the trailers and what you want to see. Then during the actual movie, you weigh it against these expectations and the movie comes up short and you are disappointed. But then when you see it again, you just what is there and appreciate that. On the repeat viewings, I like the interactions with the villainous corporate VP more. I caught the fight again and it was funnier.

[Drunk Monk]

fair

with so much content out there, i seldom have time for a 2nd or 3rd viewing. and as has been frequently demonstrated on this here forum, i often forget the 1st viewing anyway. good thing the forum is here to remind me. 

the ford villains were well done in their ridiculousness. i was amused how they painted iacocca as the good guy and used the punisher to do it. i wonder if he was still alive and green lit this on those conditions.

[Greg]

I think what brings me back to F v F is that it's kind of throwback cinema. Not a lot of gimicks. The CGI is in the background rather than in your face. It's humans interacting with humans. There's a lot of story going on.

Granted, I'm also watching Into the Spiderverse and I'm enjoying that immensely as well.