He's made big hits such as Identity, Walk The Line, 3:10 To Yuma and Logan.
Now, he's gone back to doing another biographical drama. I think after how well Ron Howard did with Rush, it was a good time to tell another motorsport true story.
With the casting of Matt Damon and Christian Bale, I knew this had the makings of a possible awards contender as someone like Bale always fully commits to his role.
Well the 2hrs 30mins duration certainly flew by. What I noticed was how many aspects to the story there were, which is probably why the film ended up being this long.
There's certainly more to cover then I anticipated and the end result was something that was pretty memorable.
Christian Bale knocked it out of the park again. Despite being seen more like the support rather then the lead, he steals the show. Right from the first scene, you can tell his method approach worked again as he has transformed into this passionate character that the general audience can behind with.
Matt Damon does a solid job as the lead, bounces off well with Bale and gives you a believable character that was perfect for someone like Damon to play.
Catriona Balfe could be an understated success here as her chemistry with Bale created a number of memorable scenes.
Josh Lucas has to get a mention, as he was wonderfully hated as the pantomime villain. His slimy presence just fits into the stereotypical corporate character that you just want to punch square in the face.
As well as the performance, the whole film has a great sense of fun and adventure to it and it's definitely executed in a way to play to the widest possible audience.
What I like about Mangold, is that he is a character driven director and this film is another one of those. This film is not about racing. It's more personal then that and it will have many relatable aspects anyone can relate to whether they like or not like motor racing.
The race sequences are terrifically tense and adrenaline fueled. The sweeping cinematography mixed in with the sound design that makes you feel that your in the car with them just adds to the viewing experience.
An underdog story is easy formula to win over any audience. But executed to a high-quality gives it strong re-watchability and it's popularity will grow and grow.
Despite it being a true story, it went places that I was not expecting and it made the pay-off much stronger.
As mentioned previously, this is a film that any type of audience can get into and you can definitely find something in here that works for you.
Rating: 8/10
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