Le Mans '66 (Ford v Ferrari) - Movie Review - Fast-paced fun or a slow mover?

This film is a 12A, was released on November 15 2019, and this review will contain NO SPOILERS 

After some hard luck, the Ford motor business decides to enter the world of racing by building a car to compete in the annual 24 hours at Le Mans in 1966. Not a huge racing fan, but it does give me a rush of energy that I enjoy. I also like Matt Damon and Christian Bale well enough, and the trailer seemed snappy and fast paced to my liking. So, I thought this would be something neat to catch in cinemas, especially because I lost interest in seeing Frozen 2 quite quickly. 

The film delivers in essentially everything that I was after. Damon and Bale give very strong performances, and they're also largely entertaining while on-screen. It is fun to watch these two and they anchor a lot of the film's strengths. On top of this, the racing sequences are a lot of fun too. They're fast paced, with some really effective sound editing / mixing to create the right atmosphere. The cinematography was also excellent in these scenes with some really smooth and wide pans around the speeding cars from many interesting angles. It really puts you in the driver's seat. The score was also terrific with some exciting tracks heightening the tension. The film also had a really good story, I like to see films that involve things such as problem solving, and this film did just that. A large segment of the film revolves around developing the car, and it makes it all the more engaging. So, the film succeeded in delivering what it promised. 

The only major issue is that the film is quite long - two and a half hours. I didn't feel bored at any point in that run-time, but the film did take some time to get going. Once it finds its feet and the main plot starts up, it whizzes by. But, the first 30 - 40 minutes of the film are quite slow and a bit dull in comparison to the rest of it. 

Le Mans '66 is a lot of fun and very solid. The performances, the racing sequences, and the filmmaking are all very strong and made this an enjoyable watch. Despite a slow start, it's a fun watch and something I'd not mind revisiting some time soon. 

I'm going to give Le Mans '66 an 8/10