Gran Turismo (2023)

By: Mike Ward on Thursday, August 24

PG-13 Running Time: 134 mins

SHOULD I SEE IT?

YES

Late summer cinematic escapism, Gran Turismo is more fun than it has any right to be.
Tight, snappy editing, a sweeping sound design, and some terrific racing sequences carry the day for Neill Blomkamp’s latest film.
David Harbour is pretty wonderful here in the formulaic role of “gruff-coach-who-finds-potential-in-a-young-kid.”

NO

The truth? What even is the truth anymore?
Though Archie Madekwe is easy to root for, you wish the film had a stronger lead to carry moments of the film to a stronger emotional place. Gran Turismo works best when its something of a spectacle and that means those looking for something more well-rounded will likely be somewhat disappointed.
Predictable and formulaic. The film finds a way to work almost in spite of itself, but you’ve seen this kind of movie many, many times before.

OUR REVIEW

Recognizing this asks for a lot of “if’s” from a viewer, but…

If you can ignore copious amounts of product placement and if you can ignore the blatant misrepresentation of a tragedy for convenient storytelling purposes and if you can swallow down an overabundance of melodramatic emotional baggage that threatens to strangle everything good out of this car racing adventure, then Neill Blomkamp’s Gran Turismo might just be the movie for you.

As it exists, I must admit that I had way more fun with this than it probably deserves. And somehow, though it leans heavily on formula and predictability, a decent amount of this “underdog-overcomes-the-odds” story works and does just enough to win over audiences who will likely look past a number of flaws along the way.

Inspired by the true story of racing wunderkind Jann Mardenborough (who serves as a producer and stunt double in the film), Gran Turismo introduces us to the movie version of Jann (Archie Madekwe), a young 20-something gaming enthusiast who has logged thousands of hours playing the racing simulator of the same name.

Rather quickly we learn that Jann’s obsession with playing the hyper-realistic driving game has his dad (Djimon Hounsou) incredibly disappointed in his son. Elsewhere, a marketing executive named Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom) is on stage pitching a crazy idea to the Nissan Corporation. His plan: Create a global competition around “Gran Turismo,” where the top seven gamers from around the world earn a chance to travel to the GT Academy and train for a chance to become a professional racer with the Nissan racing team.

The idea is novel but dangerous. Yet despite their initial trepidation, Nissan executives agree to the plan. Jann makes the cut, brushes up against a former driver serving as a skeptical, demanding coach (David Harbour), and looks to defy the odds, win the support of his father and pursue the improbable dream of becoming a professional racer.

If Gran Turismo seems a bit too good to be true, Mardenborough is more than happy to embellish his story for cinematic purposes. If you dig too deep into Jason Hall and Zach Baylin’s screenplay, you will start to notice gears slipping and the narrative engine sputtering and cutting out.

While a fair amount of the film would not pass a polygraph test, there remains a sweeping, swirling enthusiasm that washes over much of this, powered by the quick cuts and snappy editing by the three-person team of Austyn Daines, Eric Freidenberg, and Colby Parker, Jr. Gran Turismo never lacks for urgency during a number of exciting racing sequences, balanced with tight, confining close ups which place us right in the driver’s seat as Jann tries to secure a racing contract during a series of increasingly demanding road races.

As mentioned, melodrama suffocates the film’s potency at times, and though Harbour is rather wonderful as the gruff mentor who sees something in his young protege, the screenplay saddles the actor with a few too many inspirational speeches across the film’s overly long 134 minutes.

Madekwe (Midsommer) is easy to root for, but his performance is drowned out by the rollicking sound design and extended racing sequences. He develops some nice chemistry with Audrey (Maeve Courtier-Lilly), a hometown crush who Jann is able to fly around the world as he criss-crosses the globe racing after his dream.

Even with those storytelling flourishes, Gran Turismo is an underdog sports film through and through. And while you wish it had more conviction in sticking to the truth, as a rousing crowd pleaser, Blomkamp gets his film across the finish line - dented and battered perhaps - but mostly intact.

CAST & CREW

Starring: Archie Madekwe, David Harbour, Orlando Bloom, Djimon Hounsou, Geri Halliwell, Darren Barnet, Takehiro Hira, Josha Stradowski, Daniel Puig, Maeve Courtier-Lilly, Thomas Kretschmann, Richard Cambridge, Emelia Hartford, Pepe Barroso, Sang Heon Lee

Director: Neill Blomkamp
Written by: Jason Hall, Zach Baylin (screenplay); Jason Hall, Alex Tse (story)
Based on the “Gran Turismo” racing game, created by Polyphony Digital
Release Date: August 25, 2023
Columbia Pictures

Late summer cinematic escapism, Gran Turismo is more fun than it has any right to be.

Tight, snappy editing, a sweeping sound design, and some terrific racing sequences carry the day for Neill Blomkamp’s latest film.

David Harbour is pretty wonderful here in the formulaic role of “gruff-coach-who-finds-potential-in-a-young-kid.”

The truth? What even is the truth anymore?

Though Archie Madekwe is easy to root for, you wish the film had a stronger lead to carry moments of the film to a stronger emotional place. Gran Turismo works best when its something of a spectacle and that means those looking for something more well-rounded will likely be somewhat disappointed.

Predictable and formulaic. The film finds a way to work almost in spite of itself, but you’ve seen this kind of movie many, many times before.