Sony’s new film Gran Turismo directed by Neil Blomkamp is based on a true story that puts a racing gamer in a car on the actual racetrack.

 

The film follows Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe) who is an avid gamer addicted to the game Gran Turismo. His father finds his interest in gaming an issue because he won’t be able to make a living off that lifestyle. Well, Mardenborough’s luck changes when the marketing director of Nissan, Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom), offers him the chance to compete with other Gran Turismo gamers to become a real race car driver. Mardenborough beats out the other gamers and becomes the face of Nissan racing. We then follow Mardenborough through his first couple of races as he is coached by former driver Jack Slater (David Harbour). Will Mardenborough succeed and make his way to the podium? Or will he crash and burn in the end?

 

I had a somewhat enjoyable time watching this film. I say somewhat, because the thing that really sold the movie for me were the race sequences with Madekwe and Harbour’s acting. Outside of that the film had some generic storytelling where the father disapproves Jann’s lifestyle and then there’s a love interest that felt unnecessary to the story. The whole plot with his family felt pointless because we see his family at the beginning of the film and then they show back up at the very end. So, when it got to an emotional part between Jann and his dad, I felt nothing because this is basically the first time we see him since the beginning of the movie. Other than those issues I think the racing sequences were well done from the cinematography to the dialogue between Jann and Jack. I think Blomkamp did a great job making the viewer feel like they’re a part of the race too.

 

Aside from the romantic interest and family storyline the racing part of the story was well done. The video effects, cinematography, dialogue, and the racing sequences were engaging and felt like a video game. Do I recommend seeing this in theaters? No, I think you can wait for this to come out on streaming and check it out then. I do recommend watching it at least once.

 

Rating: 3 out of 5