247.
Le Mans '66
9/10
It had been months since I'd seen a Screen Unseen with Odeon and it could well be because they had slowed down presenting them. I had looked from time to time to book. As per usual I didn't really take notice of the clues that Odeon had given out on Twitter and instead, binged on them the morning before the showing. A lot of followers were saying Le Mans '66, which I would have been surprised about with it being such a mainstream movie and being well advertised. It was definitely one that was on my list for the remaining movies of the year and to my surprise and joy, I was about to see it a couple of weeks before everyone else.
The movie follows the true story of Ford going up against Ferrari in the Le Mans 24 hours race. They must overcome a lot of interference from the 'big-wigs' up top in order to get the best result. With front runners in the movie like Matt Damon and Christian Bale, you knew that it had the potential to be impressive. Damon played Carroll Shelby, who some may recognise the last name, as Bale plays Ken Miles, the drive and hothead of the movie. There are a couple of recognizable faces but no-one who stands out in a way that this duo does. We get the chance to drop into the personal lives of these men as Shelby has to give up racing as his nerve goes and Miles is struggling for money as his garage gets repossessed by the bank. Each sees an opportunity in each other as Miles is racing on his days off and easily winning as Ford drafts in Shelby to create a car to run in the race, in order to raise the profile of Ford into something more than just a boring car.
The two finally design a car and complete it in a less than conventional way that the company wanted to follow and one of the members of the board isn't too happy about this and we know that he is going to be a pain throughout. He's the guy who calls the shot on the driver and doesn't want Miles behind the wheel during the race. They bring in their own guys and the race does not go to plan. Miles listens to it from the garage and knows exactly where things are going wrong. Back to the drawing board, Shelby is given full authority from the top and puts Miles behind the wheel, without consulting the fella who had stopped him before.
We get to the race and Miles is doing great, lead switching between himself and Ferrari and holding his nerve until the Ferrari finally crashes out. He is easing to victory and pulls in for his rest and switch of the driver. During this time, Shelby is told by the arsehole that a call has come from the top, the want the 3 cars from Ford to cross the finish line at the same time. He tells Miles and leaves it up to him what he wants to do and Shelby will not stand in his way. Miles knows that this is a dream of his, with his family watching on at home, but he also knows that this is a big deal for Shelby. Without Shelby, he wouldn't have had this chance and wouldn't have had this money. Slow down he does and they all cross the line together, getting out, the press rush over to the team and the winner, only the winner isn't Miles, it's a teammate of his that started a few cars back in the beginning and because that means he traveled the furthest distance, he actually won the race. The guy from up top knew this and completely swindled Miles out of the podium spot. To be fair, Miles takes this reasonably well and is ready to get home, relax and then prepare for next year.
Unfortunately, there isn't going to be the next year. In the team's first few practice sessions in the desert, Miles' car comes off the track and crashes, killing him instantly. The movie draws to a close with Shelby struggling to overcome the loss of his best friend and sitting outside Miles' house, too scared to speak to his wife. Some words after the screen turn black tells us that Ken was actually introduced into the Hall of Fame and damn right he should have been too.
We get to the race and Miles is doing great, lead switching between himself and Ferrari and holding his nerve until the Ferrari finally crashes out. He is easing to victory and pulls in for his rest and switch of the driver. During this time, Shelby is told by the arsehole that a call has come from the top, the want the 3 cars from Ford to cross the finish line at the same time. He tells Miles and leaves it up to him what he wants to do and Shelby will not stand in his way. Miles knows that this is a dream of his, with his family watching on at home, but he also knows that this is a big deal for Shelby. Without Shelby, he wouldn't have had this chance and wouldn't have had this money. Slow down he does and they all cross the line together, getting out, the press rush over to the team and the winner, only the winner isn't Miles, it's a teammate of his that started a few cars back in the beginning and because that means he traveled the furthest distance, he actually won the race. The guy from up top knew this and completely swindled Miles out of the podium spot. To be fair, Miles takes this reasonably well and is ready to get home, relax and then prepare for next year.
Unfortunately, there isn't going to be the next year. In the team's first few practice sessions in the desert, Miles' car comes off the track and crashes, killing him instantly. The movie draws to a close with Shelby struggling to overcome the loss of his best friend and sitting outside Miles' house, too scared to speak to his wife. Some words after the screen turn black tells us that Ken was actually introduced into the Hall of Fame and damn right he should have been too.
If your're a fan of the movie Rush, I implore you to watch this one. In my opinion, it's on the same level. A true story within car racing that truly gets the heart pumping, whether you're a fan of the sport in your own life or not. Again, as with any true story, not much could really be changed, not that I know the ins and outs of everything but knowing that this is a true story, roped me in even more. The one major part of the story that got my blood boiling was the final lap of the race and Miles being swindled out of first place due to a technicality. The only closer I can get to my anger was the end of A Star is Born, as the agent led Cooper's character to suicide with his words. The rest of the story was enthralling none-the-less and with the unexpected turn at the end, without knowing the story, it was hard to see it coming.
Bale and Damon bounced off each other like something I haven't seen in a long time. One was the brains with the other the Braun, in a car racing sense of the phrase. I'm not sure that one would have been able to exist in this world without the other in their ear. This was shown as although there was a little bust-up and the two could carry and argument within a scene, when the time came for sympathy, once again both of the excelled. Every other character was nothing more than a side story, other than the main executive who was far from fond of Miles' role within the team. This gave us someone to hate, that's for sure.
I really enjoyed this movie and the fact that I got to see it earlier than I had planned was even sweeter. It felt far from the run time of 152 minutes and that is down to the action-packed race scenes that were littered throughout. They were really well filmed, between the near misses and the crashes, the CGI involved mixed with the live-action in a coherent style. Both main actors have been in multiple movies that I have liked, with one being my favourite Batman along the way. This has easily become a movie on the list that I will want to see again.
Bale and Damon bounced off each other like something I haven't seen in a long time. One was the brains with the other the Braun, in a car racing sense of the phrase. I'm not sure that one would have been able to exist in this world without the other in their ear. This was shown as although there was a little bust-up and the two could carry and argument within a scene, when the time came for sympathy, once again both of the excelled. Every other character was nothing more than a side story, other than the main executive who was far from fond of Miles' role within the team. This gave us someone to hate, that's for sure.
I really enjoyed this movie and the fact that I got to see it earlier than I had planned was even sweeter. It felt far from the run time of 152 minutes and that is down to the action-packed race scenes that were littered throughout. They were really well filmed, between the near misses and the crashes, the CGI involved mixed with the live-action in a coherent style. Both main actors have been in multiple movies that I have liked, with one being my favourite Batman along the way. This has easily become a movie on the list that I will want to see again.
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