Directing: A-
Acting: B+
Writing: B+
Cinematography: A-
Editing: A-

Okay, so Ford v Ferrari is pretty damned long too—two hours and 32 minutes, to be exact. A good way to make that seem less significant is to have seen The Irishman the day before: compared to that movie’s three and a half hours, this seems like a quick excursion. There’s also the fact that Ford v Ferrari is so entertaining, so full of speed and suspense, it really never feels particularly long. This is that rare movie that anyone could love, and it’s not even a damned superhero movie.

In that sense, Ford v Ferrari is a pretty classic original motion picture. Director James Mangold (3:10 to Yuma, Logan) offers something that feels a lot like movie-going was in the past, when box office successes weren’t dominated exclusively by endless returns to IP. A standalone movie could break through on the strength of its own merits. It’s on pace to be by a wide margin the #1 movie this weekend, which feels like a good sign—even if its predicted earnings are far lower than your average blockbuster debut.

The extraordinary thing about Ford v Ferrari is that I really have nothing to criticize it for. It may not quite be a masterpiece of cinema, but it sure does hold up as near-perfect movie entertainment. I don’t even tend to have much interest in sports movies of any type, but I had a blast watching this. But that’s one of this movie’s many strengths: it easily transcends the “sport” it is ostensibly about.

A fair amount of this movie’s widely positive critical response has noted that, even though it’s about two race car drivers (Matt Damon and Christian Bale, both fantastic) helping the Ford Motor Company win the 24-hour Le Mans race in 1966 France, it hardly celebrates the massive corporation that’s behind it all. Tracy Letts is perfectly cast as Henry Ford II, who is throwing all the money he can at this endeavor for no real reason other than being personally insulted by the CEO of Ferrari. Josh Lucas plays a more direct, meddling villain as Ford’s second-in-command Leo Beebe, but Ford is still characterized as a pretty out of touch rich guy with an easily bruised ego. He’s equally easily manipulated by both Beebe and Carroll Shelby, the retired race car driver played by Matt Damon.

The trailers for Ford v Ferrari make it look a little too much like the movie is about a rivalry between Matt Damon’s Carroll and Christian Bale’s British immigrant race car driver/mechanic Ken Miles, but the “v” in the title is not between these two characters. Carroll and Miles are very good friends, both working for the Ford Motor Company to become the first Americans to beat Ferrari in the Le Mans race. And Damon and Bale have great onscreen chemistry.

I suppose one unanswered question is in regards to Carroll’s personal life—does he have a wife, or romantic partner of any kind? Look up Carroll Shelby an you’ll discover he was married seven times. We do not meet a single one of these women in Ford v Ferrari; apparently he had several affairs. Maybe James Mangold felt any focus on that would distract too much from the story at hand—the movie we’ve got is well-packed with story as it is. Still we do get significant focus on Ken Miles’s apparently very supportive wife, Mollie (Caitriona Balfe), as well as on their son Peter (Noah Jupe). Carroll Shelby actually had three children, none of whom appear in this movie. It is a little odd that no part of Shelby’s personal life plays into the story here, and yet a whole lot of Ken Miles’s does. I guess if I do have any criticism of this movie, that would be it.

That said, it’s a testament to how gripping a movie Ford v Ferrari is that I didn’t even think about these things until sitting down to write the review. The story at hand is all about two friends who built a race car that broke records, and it is fun, engaging, almost always amusing, and often genuinely suspenseful. The many racing scenes are incredibly well edited, giving a multi-dimensional and easy to follow view of what it felt like to be a part of them. There is danger that comes with it, and inevitably, tragedy. It certainly doesn’t hurt that this movie is packed with dynamic characters, whether we are meant to root for them or not.

This movie is an unexpected delight, something you can confidently recommend to just about anyone you know. It’s sort of sad how that makes it unique. Movies like this just don’t come along much anymore, and the world could do with more like it: something that is not especially challenging but doesn’t particularly need to be, but is still very well-made on every level. To say it exceeds expectations is an understatement.

Overall: A-