Review of 'Gran Turismo'

Based on a real story, “Gran Turismo” is a hugely popular computer racing games whose creators are famous for striving for perfection in accurately simulating the racing experience with meticulous attention to detail in the cars and the driving experience. Nissan marketing executive Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom) comes up with the idea of a “GT Academy” which would put the best players of the game into real cars for for a competition where the winner has a seat in a real racing team. Cardiff teenager Jann (Archie Madekwe) is an elite player of the game, neglecting his job to spend time racing. Offered a seat in the “GT Academy” Jann joins a group of other elite gamers who are trained by the cynical ex-racer Jack Salter (David Harbour who you may recognize as the sheriff from “Stranger Things”). As the competition hots up Jann will have to decide what he wants for his life and prove to the many doubters that he is a true racer.

Yes, this really happened and it is interesting to see how successful it actually became where the industry began to take the idea of computer-based simulation seriously. Now car racing teams integrate huge amounts of sim time for their racers in their training regime. I think it is also a tribute to the veracity and commitment of the game's creators that made this all possible.

The story is a typical “coming of age” story for a young man who is forced to challenge himself if he wants to accomplish his dreams against, of course, overwhelming opposition not only in the racing community but even from his disproving father (played by Djimon Hounsou). The film has some amazing racing sequences that look remarkably accurate and convincing with imaginative camera angles helping to make the action come alive. The characters are fairly stereotypical with straightforward personal issues that pose no huge surprises but that is fine, this is all about the struggle for success against all the odds. It is a bit grating to have the same issues thrashed over and over again in the story - Yeah, we get the point the racing community are sceptics; yeah, we get it, the family does not support him; yeah, we get it, the guy training them is not too happy where he is (of course, he changes his tone as the movie goes on, so far so “yeah, of course”)…But stick with it for the great racing sequences and, yes, the occasional spectacular accident that one of the characters has to put behind him in order to succeed…

At just after two hours it feels a tad long and drawn out but it looks great and will definitely appeal to racing, and perhaps gaming, fans. Not sure about the general public though…As a racing fan myself I found it interesting to see the details of what actually happened, having only heard of it in the media at the time. The racing sequences do look quite amazing without being too exaggerated.

Rating: “Really good but I have some issues”

Review Date: 2025-08-09

Directed by: Neill Blomkamp

Studio: Columbia Pictures

Year: 2023

Length: 134 minutes

Genre: Action/Adventure

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4495098/

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