Gran Turismo

By: Jamie Steinberg

If you’re looking for a way to amp up your heart rate as summer comes to a close, you’ll definitely want to watch new movie Gran Turismo. Director Neill Blomkamp has created a genre-bending sports drama that really brings the simulator game to life.

Based on a true story, we follow Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe) who goes from being an at-home gamer to an actual car racer when marketing mogul Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom) sees the potential skill in him and proposes a competition where the top seven gamers will train to become actual racers for the Nissan team. In order to guide the contestants, Moore enlists veteran crew chief and former Jack Salter (David Harbour). Mardenborough agrees to take part as he wants the opportunity to work on real cars; however, his father Steve (Djimon Hounsou) is more practical and wants his son to focus on something more realistic.

Blomkamp does an exceptional job at bringing the cars to life through having transparent VFX cars surround Mardenborough when he is gaming. However, it would have been nice to see more of the connection and difficulties Jann has with his father and even a larger bit of their life at home. Plus, Mardenborough seems to have a true connection with a girl he meets at a party (Maeve Courtier-Lilley) whom he keeps up with via Instagram which never seems to go further than messaging. Regardless, the scenes of real racing are fun. Plus, the rivalry between Jann and an ultra-rich racing team creates much needed tension. Sure, there are some racing cliches included, but with every competition there is a needed reminder to “never give up.”

Gran Turismo does a wonderful job of bringing Jann’s gamer experiences seem real. Madekwe and Harbour play well off one another and there is enough vroom-vroom to keep you sitting on the edge of your seat as the races heat up. Take some time to blur the lines of reality and simulation by watching this sports-underdog movie.