I may not know a lot about cars but I like to think I know a fair amount about films; and James Mangold’s ‘Le Mans 66’ is a phenomenal film from the starting grid to the chequered flag at the finish line.
Based on the true story of Carol Shelby (Matt Damon) and Ken Miles (Christian Bale) who along with a team of engineers and mechanics build a race car for the Ford Motor Company that will win them the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966 and beat the Ferrari team.
The film clocks in at around 2 and a half hours yet it never feels slow as there is no second of screen time wasted, no throwaway lines and no plot threads that are forgotten about down the line. Like the Ford GT 40 that wins the race, the film is a meticulously crafted and well maintained machine capable of transporting the viewer out of the cinema and into the drivers seat.
The race scenes are among some of the best I have ever seen on film and are edge of your seat material. The sound of the film is incredible, with the roar of the engines making seats rumble you feel as though you are actually there.
If I had to really point out a problem I have with the film it’s that Jon Bernthall’s character, a marketing executive at Ford, doesn’t actually have all that much to do in the final half of the film despite him being so integral to the first half. But I’m clutching at straws here, the film is not only thrilling but emotionally gripping; and you absolutely do not have to like cars to enjoy this film.
‘Le Mans 66’ is one of my favourite films of the year and easily my favourite driving film (sorry Baby Driver & Mad Max Fury Road). It’s the chemistry between Damon & Bale that really lifts the film into the echelons of great film making, as gorgeous as the film looks, as great as it sounds and as good as the story is, these two actors embody the personas of Shelby and Miles so we’ll that it almost seems they were born to play them.
‘Le Mans 66’ is not to be missed, you won’t regret it.
Based on the true story of Carol Shelby (Matt Damon) and Ken Miles (Christian Bale) who along with a team of engineers and mechanics build a race car for the Ford Motor Company that will win them the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966 and beat the Ferrari team.
The film clocks in at around 2 and a half hours yet it never feels slow as there is no second of screen time wasted, no throwaway lines and no plot threads that are forgotten about down the line. Like the Ford GT 40 that wins the race, the film is a meticulously crafted and well maintained machine capable of transporting the viewer out of the cinema and into the drivers seat.
The race scenes are among some of the best I have ever seen on film and are edge of your seat material. The sound of the film is incredible, with the roar of the engines making seats rumble you feel as though you are actually there.
If I had to really point out a problem I have with the film it’s that Jon Bernthall’s character, a marketing executive at Ford, doesn’t actually have all that much to do in the final half of the film despite him being so integral to the first half. But I’m clutching at straws here, the film is not only thrilling but emotionally gripping; and you absolutely do not have to like cars to enjoy this film.
‘Le Mans 66’ is one of my favourite films of the year and easily my favourite driving film (sorry Baby Driver & Mad Max Fury Road). It’s the chemistry between Damon & Bale that really lifts the film into the echelons of great film making, as gorgeous as the film looks, as great as it sounds and as good as the story is, these two actors embody the personas of Shelby and Miles so we’ll that it almost seems they were born to play them.
‘Le Mans 66’ is not to be missed, you won’t regret it.