Gran Turismo (2023)
Directed by Neill Blomkamp, the biographical action drama Gran Turismo tells a classic underdog story in the form of an exciting racing car movie.
Gran Turismo is not a movie based on the popular game. Instead, it tells the (mostly) real-life story of British driver Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe), who started out as a Gran Turismo player, before joining the Nissan GT Academy and going on to become a professional race car driver.
His entry into the elite world of racing apparently wasn’t without controversy, as there were plenty of people against ‘sim’ drivers, who often had limited experience driving real cars and were therefore considered to be a risk to the ‘proper’ drivers.
The Nissan GT Academy was the brain child of racing executive Darren Cox. In the movie his name is Danny Moore and he is played by an inspired Orlando Bloom. Better still is David Harbour (Stranger Things), as the (fictional) Jack Salter, who not only becomes the Nissan’s team’s chief engineer but, more importantly, also Jann’s personal mentor.
Harbour really is on fire in most of his scenes and adds a lot of unexpected depth and feeling to his character.
Overall, writers Jason Hall, Zach Baylin and Alex Tse have done a pretty good job, even though there is something fairly predictable about the way the story is told.
Director Neill Blomkamp (District 9) does a fine job with the action scenes and in general has the movie running like clockwork.
The movie takes in many famous race tracks and finally heads for the legendary French circuit of Le Mans, where Mardenborough and his team will try to make their mark on the 24 hours race.
Gran Turismo may not be a masterpiece, but nevertheless it’s a hugely enjoyable addition to the late summer movie line-up.
Note: Starting this week, Gran Turismo is released in cinemas around the world.