Time: 134 Minutes
Age Rating: M – Offensive language
Cast:
Archie Madekwe as Jann Mardenborough
David Harbour as Jack Salter
Orlando Bloom as Danny Moore
Darren Barnet as Matty Davis
Djimon Hounsou as Steve Mardenborough
Geri Halliwell as Lesley Mardenborough
Director: Neill Blomkamp

A player wins a series of Nissan-sponsored video game competitions through his gaming skills and becomes a real-life professional race car driver.

I had been hearing about Gran Turismo for a while; I knew of it as being somewhat an adaptation of the driving video game of the same name. The biggest selling point for me was that it would be helmed by Neill Blomkamp, who previously made District 9, Elysium and Chappie. That said, I wasn’t exactly hyped for the movie, mostly because of the less than stellar trailers. However, Gran Turismo ended up as one of the most surprising movies of this year.

You may or may not know this, but Gran Turismo is actually based on a true story. The marketing certainly wants you to know this, as it mentions this fact in the trailers and posters, and even sometimes places “Based on a True Story” right in the title of the movie. Though I don’t blame them for emphasizing this, considering that the premise at the center does sound absurd. The movie is depicting the real life story of a top player of Gran Turismo becoming a real life race car driver. Considering this, its more of a sports biopic than a video game adaptation, even though games are a notable part of the story. The story is well crafted and is very sincere; I was far more emotionally invested and riveted than I was expecting to be. It’s not without its faults; at its core it is a standard sports biopic, and as such is quite predictable, following similar beats and story structure. You’ll find many underdog story tropes throughout. However, it is nonetheless well executed that it didn’t really bother me. The biggest issue I have is the first act, which is pretty low energy and a little sluggish. Once the protagonist joins Gran Turismo academy and begins to learn to drive for real, that’s where it picks up.

The movie particularly benefits from some committed performances. Archie Madekwe is great as the main character and real life gamer to racer; he keeps the movie grounded, conveying the highs and lows of his life, and makes it easy to buy into his story. The standout of the movie is David Harbour as a coach reluctantly teaching gamers to become real racers, and its one of the best performances I’ve seen from him. Other actors like Orlando Bloom and Djimon Hounsou are also really good.

The biggest strength that this movie is Neill Blomkamp as director, his work really added a lot. Its great on a technical level, it is well shot and edited, especially when it comes to the intense and thrilling racing sequences. It particularly makes stellar use of drones during the racing. I also like the little things that Blomkamp adds, the visual effects showing how the main character views things when driving, including the machinery of his car. The score from Lorne Balfe and Andrew Kawczynski is also effective, mainly during the adrenaline filled racing scenes.  

Despite a slow first act, Gran Turismo is really entertaining with solid performances, a story I was surprisingly invested in, and Neill Blomkamp’s great direction, especially with the thrilling racing sequences. It’s honestly far better than what I was expecting it to be. It’s worth checking out, especially if you can watch it in the cinema.