Gran Turismo Review

Theatrical Movie Review - Biopic

Source: IGN

My first job was working at a race track that was just across the street from my neighborhood. It was a small dirt track, and every Friday night during the summer we would hear the sound of the cars roaring across the breeze. I worked in the pizza concession booth and every once in a while we would sell out early enough that I could go watch a few laps. There was something thrilling about watching these cars flying around the track. And while Formula 3 racing is a far cry from the sprints I watched back in the late 1980’s, there was a sense of nostalgia that cropped up as I planned to watch Neill Blomkamp’s latest movie, “Gran Turismo.”

The film follows the true story of Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe), a 19 year old gamer turned race car driver. To help boost sales for Nissan, Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom) suggests bringing the best simulation drivers of the PlayStation game Gran Turismo to compete for a chance to drive for the company. He convinces former racer Jack Salter (David Harbour) to come on as a coach and safety supervisor for the team. We follow Mardenborough through his first major victory and how he changed racing forever.

I have a soft spot for sports movies, and this one was more fun than I anticipated, which was a pleasant surprise. While this movie definitely plays a bit fast and loose with the timeline, many of the major events in Mardenborough’s career are accurate, and in fact, he worked as the stunt driver in his own biopic. 

I very much enjoyed the performances in this movie, particularly that of Harbour. He brings so much heart to his roles, and this was no exception. Another small, but standout performance came from Djimon Hounsou as Mardenborough’s father, Steve. He helped ground this movie in a way that added an emotional core to it that could have been missing otherwise.

There is a lot of product placement in this movie. I expected a certain amount because there are a lot of sponsors in the racing world, but this movie goes way beyond constant ads for Nissan and PlayStation on the track. There is one scene that I’m sure was meant to be somewhat heartfelt and I laughed out loud at the absurdity of it. The effects in this movie worked for me to give it both a realistic and video game feel, but I could see them being a distraction for some viewers. 

But despite the sketchy timeline and the overabundance of product placement, this movie is still a good time. Knowing a bit about how things turned out for Mardenborough didn’t stop me from feeling anxious to see if he would qualify to race or win a big tournament. And as we head back to school and there’s a slight chill in the morning air, this took me back to a warm Friday night in Sarver, PA, and that’s pretty good for a movie.

This review originally appeared in The Dominion Post on August 27, 2023.