LE MANS ‘66 (12A)
and Christian Bale, who fire on all cylinders as human trailblazers behind the roaring engines.
As Shelby, Damon threads his innate everyman charm with a mischievous streak to defy the interfering men in suits and reduce chief executive Henry Ford II to a whimpering wreck after a spin in the GT40 prototype.
Bale has the showier role as Miles.
The Welsh actor achieves another extreme body transformation, dropping 70lb in weight after his Oscar-nominated turn as Dick Cheney in Vice to portray a scowling, anti-authoritarian maverick.
Initially, the film focuses on marketing executive Lee Iacocca (Jon Bernthal), who persuades hard-nosed boss Ford (Tracy Letts) that the key to revitalising the ailing brand is to make Ford sexy.
“James Bond does not drive a Ford,” argues Lee.
“That’s because he’s a degenerate!” growls Ford.
Eventually, the chief executive dispatches Lee to Italy to court Enzo Ferrari (Remo Girone) and sign a commercial deal to draw on Ferrari’s expertise.
Discussions break down at the last minute and Ferrari insults the Americans by telling them to “go back to your big, ugly factory making big, ugly cars”.
In response, Ford orders his company’s racing division to build a car capable of humiliating Ferrari at the 1966 Le Mans.
Stetson-wearing Carroll Shelby (Damon) accepts the seemingly impossible challenge and he approaches Ken Miles (Bale) to sit behind the wheel of the Ford GT40.
Lee’s boardroom rival, fellow executive Leo Beebe (Josh Lucas), denounces the appointment – “Ford means reliability. Ken’s not a Ford man!” – but Carroll is adamant that Miles is the only driver for the job.
Le Mans ‘66 excels during breathlessly staged racing sequences in an era when the need for speed heightened inherent dangers of the sport.
Damon and Bale jump-start a winning on-screen partnership, leaving Bernthal and Lucas’s undernourished rivalry in their exhaust fumes, and Catriona Balfe is poorly served as Ken’s doting wife - the only female character of note.
Mangold shifts sweetly through the gears, screeching through a saggy middle section before he hits thrilling top speed with the titular showdown.