Movie Review: ‘Gran Turimso’

Review by James Lindorf

Sports movies have existed almost as long as film. They got their start 108 years ago, in 1915, with Charlie Chaplin’s “The Champion.” This sub-genre moves flawlessly from gritty dramas to laugh-out-loud comedies and hit its stride in the ’70s with hits like “Brian’s Song,” “The Bad News Bears,” “Breaking Away,” and “Rocky.” The following decades each had hits of their own, from “Raging Bull” and “Major League” in the ’80s, “Rudy” and “Cool Runnings” in the ’90s, all the way to 2021’ Best Picture nominee “King Richard.” It is no shock that Hollywood tends to produce films that feature America’s big three sports, football, baseball, and basketball, so sports like cricket, soccer, and auto racing seldom get their turn in the spotlight. One of those sports is getting a new entry from acclaimed director Neill Blomkamp (District 9) when “Gran Turismo” races into theaters on August 25th.

Non-gamers may be shocked to learn that the “Gran Turismo” franchise of video games is the best-selling property in the history of PlayStation exclusives. The original game was released in 1997 after five years of development, and every entry since has been praised for their graphics, an enormous number of licensed vehicles, accurate driving physics, and the ability to tune cars like racers out on the track. In the 4th iteration, the series adopted the tag “The Real Driving Simulator,” and only the most ardent game and racing fans knew how accurate that headline was. For the 2023 “Gran Turismo” movie, writers Jason Hall and Zach Baylin adapted the real-life story of Jann Mardenborough, a winner of the surprisingly underground GT Academy. From 2008 to 2016, the television program took away the controller and put a steering wheel in the hands of elite gamers from around the world.

Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe) hates it when someone calls “Gran Turismo” a video game. It is a racing simulator and the key to unlocking his dream of a future in racing. His lofty ambitions often put him at odds with his father (Djimon Hounsou), a former footballer turned railway worker, and his brother Coby (Daniel Puig), who is following his father’s footsteps onto the pitch. Thanks to Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom), a maverick marketing executive for Nissan, Jann has a shot at making his dream a reality when he is invited to a GT invitational. Anyone who wins one of these qualifying events will be allowed into the GT Academy. There, under the tutelage of former hotshot turned mechanic Jack Salter (David Harbour), they will find out if any of them has what it takes to transition from virtual to reality. Even if he wins at the academy, Jann will face an endless line of drivers, pit crews, and crew chiefs, like top driver Nicholas Capa (Josha Stradowski), who believes he has no business on the circuit. Often on his own, away from his family and potential love interest Audrey (Maeve Courtier-Lilley), Jann will have to use every bit of confidence, athletic ability, and experience gained during thousands of hours of gameplay to make his dream come true.

Racing movies are already few and far between, but the feel-good racing movie is even more rare. Often, they are about the drivers dealing with the pressure and dangers associated with the need to win while driving 200 miles an hour inches away from their competition. It doesn’t leave a lot of time for levity and joy. Thankfully, Blomkamp is able to balance both of these elements during the 135-minute runtime of “Gran Turismo.” Watching the film with an audience felt like attending a live sporting event. I heard cheers, jeers, and even a few tears as Jaan’s story unfolded. Besides balancing the film’s emotional content, walking that fine line with the tone makes it easier to forgive the film when it falls into the tropes often seen in feel-good sports movies. Blomkamp takes his own path to those milestones, breaking tradition and getting wonderful results, much like Jaan does when he drives.

There are a couple of moments where they want to remind you that “Gran Turismo” is a video game movie that detracts from the story they are telling. It also led to some unnecessary audience hand-holding because they didn’t trust us to remember a conversation from earlier in the film and understand how it would impact the moment Jaan is facing. Those two small things and being about 15 minutes too long are the complete list of complaints for “Gran Turismo.” It won’t find itself up for many, if any, awards this season, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t one of the best and most rewatchable films to hit theaters this year. Long-time fans of Djimon Hounsou will also appreciate that he is allowed to really act as Jaan’s father and not just be a charming or intimidating presence like much of his later career has become. “Gran Turismo” may not be a perfect film, but at a 4 out of 5, it stands atop the podium in the race for the best video game movie.

Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Original Language: English
Director: Neill Blomkamp
Producer: Doug Belgrad, Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, Dana Brunetti
Writer: Jason Hall, Zach Baylin
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 25, 2023 Wide
Runtime: 2h 15m
Distributor: Columbia Pictures