Le Mans ’66 Review

Ford’s triumph at Le Mans in the 1960s is considered one of the greatest achievements in motorsports. This story is given the cinematic treatment thanks to Logan director James Mangold.

Ford Motors have fallen into a slump. One of their executives, Lee Iacocca (Jon Bernthal) comes up with a radical plan to give Ford a more glamorous image: compete in high-speed racing. After a merger between Ford and Ferrari falls through Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts) becomes determined to beat Ferrari at Le Mans and demands Ford hires the best engineers and drivers. This leads Ford to hire Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and Ken Miles (Christian Bale), two mavericks who clash with the Ford top brass.

Le Mans ’66 is the type of film that could get any film fan to salivate: it’s made by filmmaker hot off the heels from making one of best superhero films, has a dream cast, and based on an interesting true story. The film does satisfy as a sports drama.

Before going into Le Mans ’66 I thought it would similar to Rush, a film that looked at the Formula One rivalry between Niki Lauda and James Hunt in the 1970s. And there were some similarities between the two films. Both are period pieces that focused on motor racing and there was a rivalry story. Le Mans ’66 was titled Ford vs. Ferrari in the United States. Ken Miles was a combination of Hunt and Lauda because he has Lauda’s technical knowledge, Hunt’s natural talent, but also has a difficult personality.

Le Mans ’66 also has a lot of differences to Rush. Le Mans ’66‘ focus was on the development of the Ford GT40. Shelby and Miles were geniuses who had to fight against Ford executives who want to take control of the project. Enzo Ferrari (Remo Girone) only appears in the first and third acts, and the rivalry was a background issue for most of the film. Shelby and Miles’ main concern was to perfect the car and win the race – it wouldn’t have mattered if the rival was Ferrari, Mercedes, or Aston Martin.

Mangold has shown himself to be a top-tier director. His strengths lie in character-driven films and his films often blessed with great acting. He certainly had a great cast for this film. Christian Bale was the highlight of the cast because his character was oddly endearing despite being so arrogant. He is the one who has the most to gain and lose because of his commitment to his family and dire financial situation. One of the best scenes in the film was when Miles’ wife, Mollie (Caitriona Balfe), is mad at him and drives like a maniac to get him to talk.

The film does have a great supporting cast with the likes of Tracy Letts, Jon Bernthal, and Josh Lucas. It is refreshing to see Bernthal play a lighter role whilst Lucas plays to his strengths – being an unlikeable douchebag.

But compared to some of Mangold’s other films Le Mans ’66 wasn’t as deep. He makes up for this lack of substance with a light, humorous tone and thrilling race sequences. The beginning of the Le Mans race was fantastic and terrifying because it was a scramble of cars where crashes happen and Miles had to avoid a similar fate.

Le Mans ’66 was a film that had one basic goal: entertain and it does with ease. It makes for an alternative popcorn flick.

Le Mans’ 66 is out on DVD and Blu-ray on 23rd March in the UK