By all accounts, ‘Gran Turismo’ really shouldn’t work as a live-action movie. I fully expected this to join the huge pile of unremarkable video game adaptations that have failed to make their mark on the big screen, like ‘Need for Speed’. But quite remarkably, ‘Gran Turismo’ is a very engaging watch that has a very engrossing narrative. You can’t see any promotional material for this film without ‘Based on a True Story’ bombarding your eyes. There’s a very good reason for that – because this isn’t your run of the mill game adaptation. This is a truly remarkable true story and one that I had never heard of before. In this modern era of 24/7 news, I find it incredible that I didn’t know of this story, or that the events of the film weren’t bombarding my social-media timelines at the time? But that lack of exposure probably helped me to really get fully engrossed into this film and its incredible real-life drama.
The ’Gran Turismo’ video game for Sony Playstation has been widely regarded as the greatest racing simulation ever made. It’s more than just a game – it’s a faithful and accurate depiction of how these cars handle – which is why it’s been a best-seller for years. Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe) is a young man who spends most of his time playing the game on his console. This obviously doesn’t go down too well with his parents Steve (Djimon Hounsou) and Lesley (Geri ‘Ginger Spice’ Horner), who worry that he is wasting his life away playing ‘Gran Turismo’. A competition is launched, backed by Nissan, that wants to find the greatest ‘Gran Turismo’ players from around the world. The winners get to become an actual race team, learning to drive the real cars that they are so familiar with in the game. A grand winner will also be selected to represent Nissan at a real motor race. Jann enters and wins the competition. Now he stands on the precipice of all of his dreams coming true and becoming a real-life motorsport racer.
As a concept, ‘Gran Turismo’ has exactly the type of unrealistic plot device that I’d expect a Hollywood AI machine to churn out. The fact that this was an actual thing – and that not only did the PlayStation player qualify, but thrive as a legitimate car racer – proves that fact is sometimes stranger than any fiction. ‘Gran Turismo’ tells a fascinating and quite unbelievable true story and does so in a very engaging and edge-of-your-seat way.
The first indication that this video-game inspired film is cut from a different cloth was in the hiring of director Neill Blomkamp. Responsible for such sci-fi classics as ‘District 9’ and ‘Chappie’, Blomkamp was a very interesting choice to bring this story to life on the big screen. And he does so with gusto and a real sense of narrative velocity. This story is undeniably made up of remarkable circumstance, but Blomkamp manages to still make it feel structured and immediate.
The cast are all good here. ‘Stranger Things’ hero David Harbour naturally steals the film as Jack Salter, the man responsible for training the gamers in the harsh realities of real-world motorsport racing. Archie Madekwe does well as Jann, giving him a believable portrayal of a kid who might be able to achieve his widest dreams. Orlando Bloom is entertaining as Danny Moore, the Nissan PR whizz who came up with this wild concept. Djimon Hounsou is his usual dependable self as Jann’s hard-working father Steve, who worries that his son doesn’t live in the real world and might be setting himself up for failure. It was odd to see Ginger Spice herself Geri (Halliwell) Horner as Jann’s mother Lesley. She struggled a bit with the more emotional scenes though. Darren Barnet, Josha Stradowski, Maeve Courtier-Lilley and Thomas Kretschmann round off the principal cast.
‘Gran Turismo’ (Based on a True Story – don’t forget that!), is a very enjoyable movie and one that will have you googling all of the real-life events that the film depicts. How this story wasn’t as well known as it should have been, is frankly beyond me – but perhaps that will ultimately help the film get more traction. It’s a fascinating and quite remarkable tale, even if you aren’t a gamer or a petrolhead. ‘Gran Turismo’ defies the odds to cross the finish line as one of the best summer blockbusters we’ve had this year, and one with a very surprising and engaging plot. And did I mention that it’s based on a true story…?
Cast: David Harbour, Orlando Bloom, Archie Madekwe, Djimon Hounsou, Geri Horner, Darren Barnet, Josha Stradowski, Maeve Courtier-Lilley, Thomas Kretschmann Director: Neill Blomkamp Writer: Zach Baylin, Jason Hall, Alex Tse Certificate: 12A Duration: 135 mins Released by: Sony Release date: 11th August 2023
