User reviews

For a film helmed by Michael Mann and starring Adam Driver and Penelope Cruz, I was expecting a lot more from this.

By the end, I didn't feel like I was much closer to Enzo Ferrari or his wife. I didn't come away with much more of an understanding or appreciation of the racing element. I didn't feel overly thrilled or engaged.

This all sounds a bit negative, but that's not to say there aren't positives to this film. Adam Driver and Penelope Cruz are really strong, even if they don't peel back the layers of the characters enough for me. However this is more of a criticism of the script than the performances. The racing scenes are well executed although could be a little more exciting and perhaps even shot a little better. Speaking of the direction, it is fine but I think there was potential to really get creative and design some thrilling set pieces. It probably didn't help that the pacing of this film was totally off, feeling much longer than it actually is, which reduced the impact of some of these scenes.

Overall I think this is a film of what could have been. There's an interesting story and an interesting man at the heart of all of this, but it just wasn't teased out enough.

In the surface, Ferrari appears to be a well-directed, well-acted and adrenaline fuelled with excellent racing sequences. And yet, throughout the film, I couldn't help but feel disinterested and dissatisfied. This film has all the elements to be a slam dunk and yet I never felt attached to Enzo Ferrari and his struggles.

The performances are decent overall. Unfortunately, I was most disappointed by Adam Driver as the titular character. He never showcases the great range that I know he is capable with. His Enzo Ferrari is very reserved and somewhat bland. It's not helped that he is speaking English while attempting an Italian accent. If Chernobyl (2019) can get away with all English dialogue, then I feel you can do that here. It would certainly allow Driver to reach greater levels of acting. The saviour of this film is certainly Penélope Cruz. She delivers an excellent performance as Laura and I wish she got more screen time.

But if you're here for the racing, the film does delivers. It's few and far between, but the third act is a long, intense race with great sound design and editing. It's a shame that you're not invested in any of the racers since the film doesn't characterise any of them. It means the climax of the film doesn't hit as hard as it probably should. It's certainly shocking and brutal but it's hard to stay immersed when the violence is so over the top and the CGI is not quite great.

Overall, Ferrari feels like a film that could've been better. The characters could've been better, the story could've covered a more interesting part of Enzo Ferrari's life and the acting could've been more. I left this film not feeling like I did not know Enzo Ferrari. It's a film that perhaps is not for me, but I can see how others enjoy it.

Ferrari ends up being such a slog of a movie in place of what should've been a thrilling an interesting portrait of a complex figure. The performances might be solid and there's an effective moment here or there but the word that comes to mind when describing the film as a whole is flat. This filmmaker and cast telling a story with this interesting a subject matter should've amounted to a lot more than it ultimately did. For as exhilarating as motor racing is supposed to be I have to say I found the film to be overwhelmingly dull when all was said and done.

The whole aesthetic is totally without life which is the last thing I would've expected for a director of Michael Mann's calibre. Mann takes a very documentarian approach to the directing and it just robs the film of any energy or sense of direction. From almost the opening minutes there a serious lack of momentum. The scenes play out in very beat for beat type way with no sense of flair and as impressive as the racing sequences are they're too few and far between to save this movie from the drag that it ends up being. All the scenes away from the track are framed in the most shot/reverse shot manner imaginable so almost none of the dramatic moments had any sort of impact on me. There's an extremely effective moment in the 3rd act that felt like Mann was finally adding some stakes to the whole thing by then it was too little too late for me.

The script here is painfully unremarkable and it rears its head in how it portrays its main character. Adam Driver is solid in the role as Enzo Ferrari, though I wouldn't rate it as one of his best performances, but I never really found the depiction of the character to be that compelling. It's established early on that Ferrari puts up a wall around everyone but as an audience member it put me at a distance from his character. I didn't think there were enough moments where his guard went down and we see what really drives him so as a result I just found him to be a bit of a rich egomaniac with motivations I didn't find to be that interesting. There's a love triangle that's set up with Penelope Cruz and Shailene Woodley's characters that almost felt like it should've been the scripts main focus but after a while it just fades into the background for the central race to take up more screen time. Driver and Cruz have good chemistry but I never really thought that Mann got to the heart of their relationship and the exposition that's given on this three way dynamic feels like it comes in the complete wrong order. I was just waiting for characters to find out information I already knew and it just kills the pacing and any impact that these reveals could've had.

I never would've guessed that Ferrari was a long time passion project for Michael Mann because nothing in the final product gives any sense of a vision for this story. It's totally unimpressive on a script and technical level and the few effective moments and impressive race sequences aren't enough to save the total bore that Ferrari ended up being as a whole.

I'm a big fan of racing and if you're a fan of racing you're invariably a fan of Ferrari. So when Michael Mann helms the Enzo Ferrari biopic, there will be expectations.

Unfortunately this presentation is uninspired. I really don't agree with the casting choice of Adam Driver for Enzo Ferrari. The only thing the two men have in common is seemingly height. Driver exudes an energy that is not the neurotic Italian man that is the brains behind Ferrari. The essence of Ferrari and Italia doesn't come across in a meaningful way. Driver possesses the menace that is Ferrari, but not much else.

A fan of classic automobiles will surely enjoy the various display of now unattainable rides in the movie though.

I was expecting this movie to be like other car- racing movies like Fore V Ferrari but the movie didn't turn out as it was expected.

The story should have been focused on bad times of Ferrari but it was mostly focused on Adam's character for a particular year, the screenplay was uneven, the direction was average and the performances were also average as everyone seemed exhausted.

The story could have been worked out and the execution could have been much better as the end result was just a purposeless movie with no outcome.

Overall, watching it was an average experience and this movie doesn't have much to offer.

A slow, meandering & yawn-inducing sports biopic about the Italian automotive mogul whose family name has been synonymous with speed, power & luxury, Ferrari intends to showcase the personal struggles & professional crisis of a man trying to keep his auto empire afloat only to end up halfway on both fronts. Lacking in horsepower, flat in structure, devoid of a well-oiled engine & also short of a full tank, Michael Mann's latest swerves & steers with no confidence, has no momentum or sense of direction, fails to create any adrenaline-fuelled moments even when the race is on, and is further marred by cold, distant & over-the-top performances, thus finishing as a bland & forgettable outing altogether.

As I saw on a YouTube video, when you are told you are going to watch a movie about Enzo Ferrari, you might think it will explain where did his car obsession come from, what happened to him after his son died, what was his rivalry with Maserati about, how did he manage to make such luxurious and aspirational cars. Sadly, none of these topics are addressed in this movie.

Although he was an interesting businessman, we seldom see anything behind his success. The movie only offers us some soap opera drama.

The acting is bland and the plot line lacks development. I was expecting so much more from this and I got white disappointed.

It's 1957 and Enzo Ferrari, as portrayed by Adam Driver, has a lot on his mind. His wife (Penelope Cruz) is mad with grief over the death of their son; his mistress, Shailene Woodley, wants him to acknowledge their son so he can be confirmed; he's hired a new driver after the last one got himself killed, and he's distracted by his movie-star girlfriend; and his accountant informs him he is broke and he needs to get a wealthy corporate partner, which he can only do if one of his cars wins the thousand-mile Mille Miglia. Also, Orsi over at Maserati is in precisely the same position and seems to have a better team of racers.

Michael Mann is not known for character studies. His subject is the glitzy world and its seamy side, so this movie about Ferrari is a natural fit. The script makes it clear what his multitudinous problems are, and they keep increasing throughout the movie, while Adam Driver lets down his guard with no one one, and Miss Cruz gets to have the emotional fireworks. I am not fond of movies about racing, since most of the character development seems to consist of men in car moving gear controls and the audio engineer choosing vroom-vroom sounds from their audio libraries. However, this movie makes clear that Ferrari's one real passion is racing cars, and it's a series of real crises that he has to overcome. Considering the negligible story content of so many of this year's "For your consideration" titles, I'll say that it's easily worth your time in the theater seat.

Saw this at the Viennale in Vienna today.

Penelope Cruz is a gem as Laura. Woodley somehow plays the same character in everything she's cast in. I think she's got talent, but how can you tell at this point? Driver was okay. The bad accents by the American actors took a while getting used to, but at 135min, there is plenty time for that.

The real stars were the cars and the driving scenes of course - and they were absolutely stunning!

I'm not a big action movie person, but these scenes were so well done, I'd get into the Fast & Furious franchise if it was done by this crew.

As far as the story goes: it's well done, there is enough meat there in Enzo's personal life and the goings-on around the infamous '57 Mille Miglia that audiences who aren't only going for the car race will be satisfied.

But Penelope Cruz carries the non-car-stuff on her shoulders, really. She's a powerhouse actress and for some reason I seem to forget it time and time again until I see another movie with her in it and am surprised at how good she is. I shouldn't be surprised - nobody should be. She's always great... but here, she's at the top of her game.

This film contains one of the funniest, most contrived deaths of all time for a character with less than one minute of screen time. There is no way it went down like that.

Adam Driver & Penélope Cruz put it good performances. The rest of the cast are fine and do the job. The drivers aren't developed that well which makes it hard to connect with them while racing, raising the stakes.

This film contains two plots: securing the win at the Mille Miglia for recognition and marketability so the company doesn't go backrupt, and Enzo Ferrari's lineage steming from his estranged wife and mistress. The latter plot line taking a majority of the runtime which isn't bad but the film is marketed as a racing film.

If you are looking for a racing film, I would recommend Le Mans '66, Rush and even Gran Turismo because this film is more of a dive into Enzo Ferrari's personal life and less exotic, heart-pumping racing.

The trailer gave way too much away revealing key moments and some of the best scenes. The CGI is easily spotted and did take me out the film during crucial moments.

If you are interested in learning about Enzo Ferrari's career and life during this period and if you're a fan of Adam Driver then it's an easy recommendation since it's a good film on those fronts but I was left desiring better constructed racing sequences to elevate this film.

This felt sadly dreadful to me, for the most part. Ferrari is a film where it feels like very few people involved cared about what they were making. On paper, the idea to focus on one brief period of time was a good one, rather than trying to capture a single figure's life story. Adam Driver is probably my favorite actor who's risen to prominence since 2010, and Michael Mann's a filmmaker whose work I generally enjoy. The idea of them teaming up to make a movie sounded promising, but the execution here was just lifeless and strangely amateur.

Much of the film's shot with a floaty, aimless camera that frames things strangely in an attempt to look unique, or because of simple incompetence; the way it sometimes shakes and drifts or zooms in and out seemingly by accident. The fact some scenes abruptly end and other scenes just linger for what feels like forever. I hated the way this looked and felt. I have no idea what Mann's going for here, or if he's simply lost his touch as a filmmaker.

Actors look either confused or bored - sometimes both - for the entire film. I have no idea what I'm supposed to care about when it comes to Enzo Ferrari as a figure. Maybe Adam Driver captured his essence well, but if so, his essence is boring and I don't know why they made a film about him. There's no real pacing or engaging build in the narrative, actors mumble their lines, and the dialogue I could make out tended to sound weirdly uninspired. Penelope Cruz felt like she was done particularly dirty by the lackluster material she was given to work with. It just felt like one boring scene after one boring scene after another boring scene.

The final act is watchable and saves the film from being an outright failure. Ferrari has a stupidly high budget, but I think much of it went into capturing some of those fairly stunning race sequences. Everything else was so dull, lifeless, directionless, and shockingly amateur, though. It's a surprising mess of a film.

With Ferrari on the brink of bankruptcy, Enzo Ferrari has a plan to reignite The Company's fortunes.

The trailers definitely made me want to watch this film, and whilst I quite enjoyed it, I really wanted it to be so much better than it was.

At times, I found it quite slow, some of the scenes could have easily been edited down, there's atmosphere, and then there's drawn out, it's clunky in parts, the story takes a while to come to life.

The racing sequences however are terrific, they look so authentic, that crash scene, amazing.

Gorgeous visuals, it very much put me in mind of House of Gucci, stylish, well filmed, and jaw dropping style. If you love classic and vintage cars, there's a whole lot to enjoy here.

Modena looks divine, and if you're able to, please visit, it is an exquisite place.

Adam Driver does a good job, as does Penelope Cruz, credit to the makeup artists, they made Driver look way older than 40.

It's good, deserved to be excellent.

6/10.

Definitely NOT a car movie and definitely NOT a gripping dramatic portrayal either. It's not a flop alright, but it is an awkward misfire for sure.

The bad: Director Michael Mann is famous for several terrific action thrillers in the past (HEAT), but he has never excelled at making a true drama (on the contrary) and this is the exact problem with this movie, because it is severely LACKING in true drama.

It's lackluster, uneventful and simply going through the motions. Almost the entire storyline is about money problems for producing racecars and lots of wife / lover quarrels / issues. What's suppose to be exciting about that?!

Not even the car races (the few that were featured) were thrilling to watch. Those races didnt look bad for sure, but they werent exhilirating either. Quite average to be honest. Was this a car movie? NOPE it was NOT.

What is it then? This story is entirely focussed on the CHARACTER of Mister Ferrari, played by Adam Driver. I really value this actor's performance in many other great movies, he's definitely a great actor, but he didnt nail it this time. And I am being really polite now...

BEWARE: use subtitles because director Michael Mann decided to let all the ITALIAN characters speak in almost unrecognizable English with a terrible accent. THAT was THE most annoying thing, that really PUT ME OFF entirely. What jibberish accents.

Not a total flop, but an awkward misfire of a drama for sure...

This movie was a waste of talent.

Adam Driver and Penélope Cruz are amazing but that's basically it.

The trailer made this movie seem like a thrill-ride. Sadly it's kinda slow for a racing movie - EVEN IN THE FINAL RACE!!!

During the final race everyone is having these small chill conversations in between and people are making weird decisions that cost them important seconds. It took me completely out of the movie and ruined all the tension - Like... are you even trying to win?!

The soundtrack is trying it's best to make the things that are happening more tense but it's not enough.

Also this movie contains some of the most ridiculous dumb looking car crash scenes ever. There are some scenes that are supposed to be dramatic that almost had me laughing for how bad the visual effects looked! It would have even been better to show the crashes off-screen.

Another decision I hated was that in the final race they made the cars of the competition the same colour as Ferrari's. I don't care what colour they had in the historical context but this was just confusing to watch - at one point in particular I wasn't even sure who was leading in the race.

All of this would have been fine for a young inexperienced director but this is Michael Mann we are talking about.

In 1947, Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver) and his wife Laura Ferrari (Penélope Cruz) started their auto company. It's 10 years later. Husband and wife are still co-owners of the company which needs investment from one of the big car companies. They're in a battle with Maserati. Their marriage is in far worst shape after the death of their only son. Enzo and his mistress Lina Lardi (Shailene Woodley) have a secret son. Lina needs Enzo to acknowledge and give their son his last name.

It's a biopic directed by Michael Mann. There is a duel between Enzo's personal life and professional life. This is not just the standard sports biopic or business biopic or a family biopic. It is a mix of all of that and more. Some of it does lose focus. I myself find the family drama very compelling. The racers get a bit lost although Mann has a great eye for racing action. All in all, this is a very good watch.

I've been following Adam Driver since the beginning of his career, and I'll forever watch everything he's in, but "Ferrari" left me with mixed feelings. For a film directed by Michael Mann and starring Adam Driver and Penelope Cruz, I was expecting a lot more from this. The stylish biopic had fantastic acting, but it felt like a racecar stuck in first gear.

Despite the racing subject matter, "Ferrari" didn't rev up the excitement; instead, it coasted along, leaving a lot of wasted potential in its rearview mirror. The pacing was remarkably slow, making it challenging to stay engaged. It's ironic that a film about speed could feel so sluggish.

Adam Driver delivered a stellar performance, and Penelope Cruz added her touch of elegance, but even their talents couldn't overcome the film's shortcomings. In the end, "Ferrari" might have the sleek exterior of a sports car, but it lacked the acceleration to truly captivate.

Michael Mann is an interesting filmmaker as Mann is great at capturing crime, thrillers, and drama stories with strong atmospheres, direction, dialogue, and action. While not every movie he has made was great, I expect Mann to provide some strong directing and interesting action and thrill moments. I didn't love Ferrari as I would have wanted to but I still found it to be interesting.

Throughout, the camerawork and the production design is pretty good as the production and setting helps to capture the time period and environment. Many of the wide shots, the car moments, or scenes where tension, action, and racing occurs are well-executed as Mann never disappoints on crafting action and thrill scenes. Most of the performances are solid. Adam Driver as Enzo Ferrari was pretty good but Penélope Cruz provided the best performances as she had great emotions, personality and chemistry with her role. Including a good soundtrack.

The narrative explores more on the personal and professional struggles of Enzo Ferrari alongside with others around which is more slow-burn then action. The narrative is interesting as I enjoyed the concepts and themes the story explores. But at the same time I wished certain concepts could have been explored or handled differently. The characters, while slightly dull at times, were interesting in exploring the personal dynamics and personalities of each one's own. Some have criticized Driver's accent for being pretty bad but I personally didn't mind it since it wasn't on the level of House of Gucci awful.

The dialogue is pretty good but there were some clunky dialogue moments. Throughout, the movie had a good atmosphere, color presentation and sound design. There are some pretty bad uses of CGI effects. Despite some of the gripes, I was still invested to see where the movie was heading.

Overall, it's not Michael Mann's best movie but it was nice to see Michael Mann doing another project after his previous work in 2015.

I found Ferrari underwhelming. Perhaps it is this year's biggest disappointment - not because it is bad, but because it has all the ingredients of a great movie that never materializes. It has good moments but struggles to kick into the next gear. Good performances, especially from Adam Driver and Penelope Cruz, but the story drags limply along. The racing sequences are only exciting in fits and starts, and I kept wishing for more.

Driver and Mann are both firing on all cylinders here but they truly hold the film together in its lackluster moments. Mann's film is ambitious in the ideas it presents and some of the subtext, but the script holds the film down so much it's almost annoying. The tone is a bit inconsistent as well and overall the ending comes as an afterthought. The cinematography is extremely crisp and slick though. The wide shots of racing and the scenery within the shots are just so clean and amazing to see between the moments of dialogue and little action. Overall the film is worth the watch simply for Driver and Mann. The idea and planning of Ferrari seemed like an excellent choice for Mann, but the execution just wasn't on par with his other films. At least watch it for the sake of seeing a new Michael Mann film.

This is not a documentary nor an action film, nor does it pretend to be. This is an emotional drama providing a snapshot of the life of Enzo Ferrari and it is a tragedy. The realism is refreshing. It's a concoction of ambition, pain, desire, and death. Lots of death. The pacing was good, it certainly may feel slow for some, but it is critical to get an organic buildup of passions and for us to saturate ourselves with these characters. The filmography, the imagery is sublime. Unbeatable in my view. Where this film, falls short is unrealistic crash scenes that felt overdramatized and quite poor Italian accents. This was really the Driver-Cruz show, and they acted admirably. Driver as this self consumed overwrought man. Cruz as this female alpha who's battling headwinds while being supremely competent in the making of the Ferrari company. Patrick Dempsey's role was a nice treat as a fan of his. Overall, a very palpable emotional drama.

The racing sequences are amazing (especially the sound), but the crashes were obviously staged by someone why doesn't understand how cars crash (wildly exaggerated). Penelope Cruz is a revelation and steals every scene she's in. Adam Driver requires you constantly suspend your disbelief (his acting is fine, he just doesn't look anything like Enzo - hard to understand how he was cast - I kept seeing Kylo Ren). This isn't a bad movie, but it's a melodrama about Enzo and his Wife/Mistress/Son/business, not a movie about racing. Unfortunately that melodrama isn't presented in a compelling, gripping manner. It's unfortunate, as they obvs had a ton of budget. It is GORGEOUS to look at!

Watched this and thought to myself wonder what budget was used, after finding out it cost 96 million I have to question where all the money went. The storyline drags and is very boring, some of the car scenes look terrible and most of the acting is very average.

It is very weird to make a movie about Enzo and only include a tiny piece of his life, there was a lot more to this man than one race and a love child. So much more in his life that would have made sense to make a movie about.

I really question sometimes movie studios and who makes the decisions on what to spend money on. In particular the car accident scenes are woeful, $96 mil and this is what they came up with? Pretty sure if you gave me that much I could make a better movie.

Saw this at the 2023 filmfestival Ghant (Belgium). Obviously, the main topic is cars and car races, but there is also a mixture of family drama (illegitimate son versus son of current wife who thus gave him an alternative heir, woman with money prepared to invest, and so on) to make it compatible for family viewing. Actually, you can consider it two films, nicely intermixed with another. The car race fans will find plenty to watch, and the rest of the film moves the family story forward. Implicitly we know that the story ends well; this is no spoiler, given that the name Ferrari still exists as a car brand.

Nice details in abundance. Drivers can have girlfriends who either distract or stimulate. When drivers bring their girlfriends along, the press tends to ignore the cars and focus on the women, to the dismay of Ferrari. He asks a journalist to bring a rumor in the world, letting him also mention in the same article that he firmly denies it, playing the cards for a business deal. And there is his wife with independent means and lots of money to spare, who has her own set of requirements when willing to invest in the company.

All in all, I did not regret booking tickets, although I feared beforehand that car races would be the main course on the menu. My fears were unjustified. There is ample family and relational drama to keep everyone's attention, and the car races do not distract but enhance the experience.

As a car enthusiast, I will say that this film has disappointed me a little.

I didn't have high expectations due to the criticism, but it certainly focuses too much on the story of Enzo's life and barely shows the essence of what was experienced in racing competitions of cars from the 50s.

It is a film that is consumed without problem, the plot does not involve you and therefore does not leave you trapped at any time.

This is the reason of my grade because I expected something more, the acting of Penelope and Adam is correct but not outstanding.

There are no memorable scenes.

Thanks for reading me ! :)

2 hours I'll never get back, I think the challenge is to see if you can stay awake for the whole film!

The trailer did a good job at fooling you into thinking would be interesting

Adam Driver was far too wooden and you never really felt any empathy with the character and just grew to dislike him more & more as you got to know more about him, as an advertising platform for Ferrari it failed although that wasn't its remit.

Comparing this to Ford v Ferrari which had a much better script and was enjoyable to watch , this just plodded along and never really started , there was no excitement & no emotion

Michael Mann had directed some great films like Heat & Collateral but this is probably his worst piece of work to date.