Sony’s adaptation of the popular racing simulator series had no right being this great.

I consider myself to be an avid fan of the Gran Turismo series, With Gran Turismo 3 being one of my favourite games ever made. The franchise represents the boldest and brightest when it comes to racing dedication, but I would have never have picked GT to get a movie adaptation above all the other franchises under the PlayStation banner. Alongside getting Neill Blomkamp (of all directors) to direct the project, it sounded like a bunch of great ideas got thrown into a blender, but surprisingly, the finished product delivered, and it delivered in spades. While nothing groundbreaking, Gran Turismo helps inject life into an adaptation that does much more than market the series.

I haven’t watched Chappie or District 9, but one thing that I understand about Neil Blomkamp is that he tells very human stories, and that’s what Gran Turismo is. It’s not just a rags to riches story, Gran Turismo is a story about racing, but told from a very human-centric aspect. I didn’t even know this until the end of the movie but the film is based off a true story, and (mostly) everything shown actually happened. This, alongside Blomkamp’s directing, help add longevity & character to the film. You see the risks of simply being on the racetrack, the tension it puts on the body, the stress that it causes on the current and past racers. David Harbour’s character, while very crass and strict, is one wrecked by guilt throughout the movie. Even when something very traumatic happens to Jann (the main character), you see how it internally wrecks him and it takes a very good while for him to recover but he’s not 100% there. Even when Jann is trying to even qualify, his father and brother are showing him the bitter reality of him losing his one opportunity, only for them to admit they’re wrong when Jann to come out on top.

Speaking of Jann, his portrayal by Archie Madekwe is one of the best that i’ve seen all year. I wouldn’t call it groundbreaking or Oscarworthy, but I hope to see Madekwe in future roles because of this role alone. David Harbour’s performance was also one that I wasn’t expecting. Most of us associate Harbour as “Mr. Stranger Things” but give him the right script, and you get an absolutely solid performance that’d make you forget that he was in that awful Hellboy reboot in 2019. Even bringing in Orlando Bloom’s fun performance proved useful, considering that he was only given a minimal appearance and Bloom campaigned to have his character be more involved in the film.

Technically, the film is visually stunning. Each shot gets the best from the Sony cameras, and the variety of experimental shots help give you a better aspect of how a race will be going, or how a particular racer is feeling at any given moment. I’d also love it when the movie would implement visual aids & effects straight from the games to help its authenticity. The movie also has a great selection of audio work to play off from, especially when the cars are racing. I don’t know why but hearing a selection of different vehicles race down an open track with them having different sound to their engines was really satisfying. And holy shit when I heard the pause noise from Gran Turismo 3 in the film, I got hit straight in the nostalgia. Also something that I gotta give praise is that the movie gives you some good tips that you can implement in Gran Turismo itself (don’t always follow the given guides, view your opponents as an opportunity, etc). It helps gives those new to the franchise a better understanding of how to approach new races and potentially reels them into playing.

There were some things that I’d change. For one, I wasn’t really that big of a fan of the first 10 minutes or so because you can basically summarize this section of the film as “Go buy a PlayStation 5, look how good Gran Turismo runs on my PlayStation 5” or “Nissan number 1, go buy a Nissan NOW.” I understand it’s setup for the plot and if they have the time, Sony & Nissan are gonna market their brands as much as possible, but after a while, it took me out from what was happening. Like how can I take what someone like David Harbour was saying seriously when the next scene is the equivalent of kissing Nissan’s ass? Also while I do think that the pacing the film was tight overall, there were some scenes that I felt either dragged on or felt pointless, like Jann in Tokyo or being chased by the cops.

Overall, Gran Turismo not only breaks the old “video game movie curse” but embraces the idea of unique storytelling within the genre. Again I’d never expected to get a movie adaptation of Gran fricking Turismo but I’m proud that it managed to get its own footing as an individual film and not only “promotional fodder” for the games. It sucks that it isn’t doing as well financially and I don’t get why most critics are hard on the film, but I implore you. With the Writer/Actors strike happening & most productions put on hold, if you’re looking for something to do this weekend, watch this film, and believe the hype.

8/10

(Good enough to buy on Blu Ray, and then buy the game on PS5, then buy a PS5, then buy a Nissan)