Le Mans '66

The real-life rivalry between Ford and Ferrari set against a backdrop of the famed 24-hour motor race makes for a thrill ride of a film that's packed with drama both on and off the track. Christian Bale (as British driver Ken Miles) and Matt Damon (as American car designer Carroll Shelby) are perfectly cast as the maverick petrolheads with arguably a few loose nuts and bolts, whose sense of daring goes hand in hand with petty squabbles and conflict with their paymasters at Ford, the mass-market name out to challenge the stylish Italians. The sparring between the two stars is terrific, as are their clashes with the stuffy, win-at-all-costs Ford executives (played by Jon Bernthal and Tracy Letts), while director James Mangold (3:10 to Yuma,Logan) takes care to give substance and depth to all his main players. When it's time for the cars to do the talking, the race sequences are elegantly staged, tightly edited and frequently put the viewer in the cockpit, gripping the steering wheel and negotiating bends at breakneck speed.