Le Mans 66 - Against All Odds

In the late 1950s, racing driver Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) just seems unstoppable. But just as he celebrates his incredible victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, he receives the devastating news that he has a heart condition that will prohibit him from racing in the future. But Shelby is a fighter, reinventing himself as a car designer and salesman in the face of his illness. Along with his terrific test driver, Ken Miles (Christian Bale), Shelby sets out to take on the seemingly indomitable cars of Enzo Ferrari. Commissioned by the Ford Motor Company, he is to build the ultimate race car. But this undertaking proves to be more difficult than expected, especially since the two are repeatedly put in the way by massive interference on the part of their clients. But the duo does not give up and fights to the bitter end.

In Le Mans 66 - Against All Odds, director James Mangold tells the true story of two real racing legends. With outstanding acting and some extremely authentic-looking racing sequences, Mangold quickly rides this flick to the entertainment pole position. Now you may be asking yourself: do you have to be a fan of car racing to like this movie. The answer is clearly: No! None of the colleagues I talked to after watching the film follow Formula 1 or other racing events. But they all - myself included - were of the unanimous opinion that the film was extremely engaging and provided entertainment of quite a high standard.

Because Mangold manages the feat of captivating his audience for two and a half hours, even if you have nothing to do with the subject matter. The clever dialogue, intriguing character sketches and great acting by the two leads are simply a delight. It's fun to follow this story and you get so caught up in it that then even the racing sequences exude a tremendous amount of tension. Here, you are literally pressed into the cinema seat and feverishly follow the duel Ford vs. Ferrari - as the film is also called in the original - in every second.

Surely, in terms of structure, the film is a typical biopic. James Mangold can't entirely shield his production from the clichés typical of the genre. But the rest of the movie is so strong that small weaknesses can't harm the extremely positive overall picture. Le Mans 66 - Against All Odds is the result of the collaboration of some outstanding talents and the best proof that even in multiplexes there is still room for sophisticated entertainment cinema. For this, there is clearly a: Absolutely worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp