This movie has so much as a "true story" potential alone, that with those actors and obviously massive budget, it should be a hit.

For sure, it's a few steps above as quality production goes (say, be generous, give it a 7/10) than Fast and Furious will ever be; and yet it so entirelily lack soul that it's only marginally better. The recipe for such a "failure" escaped me at first. And then it hit me as the most obvious thing in the world.

The same type of sackless pieces of sh.. called executives in the movies also rule in Hollywood and sink projects from the inside, exactly in the same way and for the same reasons. Are the bosses too lofty to talk to the outsiders they hired, or those too shy to burst in their country-club or offices, we won't know.

The story is not exactly right, but Ford the Second didn't deserve a single victory in Le Mans to begin with. Even according to this bittersweet American movie.

It is poorly told in the sense that NOT A MAN rebels in the late 60s against the heir of an industrialist like he were an aristocrat in England before WWI ! The sequence where he rides one of his car with Shelby while his executive lapdog is unavailable means nothing either. They're greedy salesmen, borderline parasites, that's all they'll ever be because they aren't challenged. Ever.

So in the end, it's well executed (le Mans race is stupidly long though) acted and very depressing. It did indeed made me appreciate Chevrolet that much more, which is kind of snob for a European woman like me. Of all muscle cars of those days, The Mustang is a fast secretary/ Schoolteacher car.. Those days are gone and good riddance. You don't race on roads. Even outside tickets/licence suspensions Knowing your limitations as a driver and those of the car must be tested on circuits by professionnals.

German highways still don't have speed limits (or didn't recently). The famous hairpin of Le MANS IS A REAl rOAD used by people not a hairpin at all if you're not racing. It's just a very regular road, the whole circuit is very average and that's the trick. At times two ways, at times 2by2 going the same way for the purpose of the race, the quality is good, but not highway good. It's pretty boring and awfully noisy to watch after a few laps but it sure tests the cars and teams. Didn't keep me from falling asleep as a kid about 20 years later. The Mercedes stop cars, though had me riveted. They passed like 250KM/H in straight line without a noise like they're crusising ! My mom's car passed 200, 210 sounding like a charging bear after a while ! We had to find a garage soon after with her servicable german and ease on the pedal of our french car. Which tickeled our hosts no end.

Even then, it was easy to give numbers hoping the cars would not be tested. Rich doesn't mean smart. Paul Walker, the 1st hero of Fast and Furious died the grilled passenger of a professional on an open road. Then again, the USA made very clear that NOW drivers or RV must keep driving. Courts ruled before that was clearly instructed in the manuals, the costumers had not been warned and those won a boatloat of money. Pure American Style. Now, THAT is recorded in the press all around the world and sometimes released for a best of American Justice; Ridicule does not kill, your "justice" does and yet thieves locked in a garage for a month won against the people they were planning to rob. Surviving on kibbles only was so damaging to their egos that they got compensations.. So on, so on. You may not, but the rest of the world keeps those records (more than the Guiness !!)

People may care about success stories, daring people, passion. Apparently, Base ball has sucked every soul in easy film-making since Redford and doubled the revenues with Money Ball, now, okay that one is contemporary. Post 70s. The whole story of how Ford never was more than what it was is all there. The heirs are lucky it's full-on American and well done.