Will The Ferrari Film be Fantastic?

Cars and cinema go together hand in hand. From the greats like the Mustang in Bullitt, to the cheesy like the mega saga that is Fast and Furious and to modern day biopics like Le Mans ’66 and Rush. If you like your movies to come with a whiff of unleaded (or four-star in the case of the historical) then you need not look far. And the pedal is clearly, and very firmly on the metal, as there is a new Ferrari film on the way. Centred around Enzo himself, it promises a lot, but can it deliver? Here’s the trailer, which is admittedly excellent as unlike every other modern trailer, it doesn’t give the entire movie away.

Looks good, right? And it should be. Michael Mann gave us Heat, Adam Driver gave us, well, everything he has ever done, and with other heavy hitters like Penelope Cruz on the roster, how can it fail? We’re excited. The trailer captivates and engages, the film seems to play into an emotional story we perhaps don’t fully know. Enzo was a fiery man, this is a fact. But we see a more human angle here, rather than the moody, somewhat angry persona films like Le Mans ’66 gave us.

Then we have the cars, which are thrilling in and of themselves given this is period piece. Stunning scenes of classic Ferraris blasting through packs of Porsches and other Le Mans legends are promised, the sounds are amazing, the brief glimpse from the trailer enough to stir any petrolhead’s soul. It’s all very… big. Mann himself has been trying to make this Ferrari film a reality for literally decades, so we don’t think he’s going to phone it in. Much to, we imagine, Enzo’s pleasure, there is some real passion here. And when did you see Adam Driver ever sign up to be the lead in a flop? Exactly. However…

Hollywood has played with Italy’s history before, and not with good results. The recent Lamborghini flick should have been good. We like Frank Grillo, we like Gabriel Byrne, but the film was… rubbish. It had every opportunity to be epic, and full of emotion and power. This is the story, after all, of a man who set up his own car company because of a weak clutch. How can you mess that up? It’s a great – too bonkers to be true but it is – story. Yet, mess it up they did. The scene in which a Countach ‘races’ a Mondial still hurts. Seriously.

We hope lessons were heeded from the Lamborghini effort. It was a painful swing and a miss that could have been incredible. And because of that, our optimism for the Ferrari film can only be held under a blanket of caution. We hope it delivers though, and we hope Mann’s passion project gives us the visuals, but more importantly, the story we so want to see on the big screen. Whether you’re a fan of the brand or not, there is no denying that’s one of the biggest and most emotive motoring names in the world, if not the king of them all. The story deserves to be told well, with care, with attention to detail and respect. And lots of gorgeous cars being driven hard, obviously.

Ferrari is expected to hit cinemas late 2023