GRAN TURISMO: A Decently Built Racing Drama

Video game movies have been getting better in the past few years at sticking to safer narratives. The Super Mario Bros. Movie was about as much as one would expect from an Illumination-animated diversion. Sonic the Hedgehog was a passive family adventure.

Now, we come to Gran Turismo, which ticks a few less-expected boxes for a video game movie. It’s based on a true story, has an underdog element, and easily fits the narrative drive of most sports movies. For trying to bring this video game racing franchise to the big screen, this is a decent route to take, despite the potholes it still hits.

A Rising Gamer/Driver

The story revolves around Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe), an expert Gran Turismo player aiming for some role in race car driving. Despite his disappointed dad and scrutinizing brother, his skills behind the wheel are astute enough that he continues to hone. His dad might shake his head, but his brother certainly appreciates that Jann can easily outrun the cops. All Jann needs is one big chance to prove himself since college hasn’t worked out.

Fortunately, Jann gets that chance when Nissan executive Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom) is interested in Gran Turismo. Trying to get people interested in Nissan again, Danny devises the Gran Turismo Academy, where the game’s top players will be given a chance to become real race car drivers. That’s precisely the boost Jann needs for his aimless life behind his computer or a retail counter.

A Grumpy Mentor

Jack Salter (David Harbour), a former driver now working as a mechanic, is placed in charge of molding Nissan’s next driver. He is reluctant to this idea, making all the expected cracks about how gamers can’t reset if they get in a crash. But since Jack’s current clients are a bunch of snobbish drivers, he’s willing to give some fresh recruits a ground-up education in high-speed driving.

With Jack already looking down on gamers, Jann has much to prove and aims to do just that. They soon connect over their mutual insight into cars and listening to music to prime themselves. It was unique how Jack’s favor of classic rock clashes with Jann’s easy listening of Kenny G and Enya. Only a few cracks are made about this because there’s always another race on the horizon.

A Well-Built Machine

The best attribute of Gran Turismo is, unsurprisingly, the racing sequences. One should expect no less from a film like this, but it’s clear that director Neill Blomkamp put some extra effort into this. The many races have the look and feel of competent racing instead of Fast and Furious-style exaggeration. There’s rarely a moment where you don’t feel the weight during these scenes.

What’s fascinating is how the races are edited. The pacing is fast enough that when we get those extreme closeups of the engines kicking, they match the intensity felt by Jann in the driver’s seat. Even somewhat expected moments where Jann’s perspective of gaming and driving merge are sparingly used and feel warranted. When the film gets to Jann’s unexpected crash on the track, it’s a brutal display of terror and despair, bold enough to make you root for the young driver to push through the pain and finish the next race.

Too Fast

What holds the film back is that so much fat has been trimmed, there’s little meat left in it. While the races are tight and exhilarating, the in-between is very vanilla. The characters go so passively through the motions that it’s sad there’s never a quieter moment that lands. One of the best scenes is where Jann and Jack talk over dinner, but even that conversation ends too soon when some adoring fans cut off a rather heartfelt moment of connection.

This issue might seem tenuous, but better moments of growth would make the competent racing hit harder. This leads to the conflict of Jann and his father teaching a touching moment that feels less full when it bookends. It’s hard to feel those tears when slammed in at the last minute. It’s a shame because all the performances are solid for the script the actors are given. Archie is likable as Jann, Harbour is endearing as a cynical yet sincere coach, and Bloom melts so well into the role of an executive.

The Commercialism

It shouldn’t surprise many that a film based on a Sony Playstation game comes plastered with advertising. Considering this story only happened because Nissan decided to take a chance on gamers in the highly commercialized world of racing, where cars become motorized billboards, that’s a given. But, wow, does it become hard to shake the feeling that this whole narrative was less of a rise to the top and more of a benevolent choice by a conglomerate.

It’s not that Jann isn’t an intelligent racer, especially when considering that the actual Jann performed the racing scenes in this movie. But the corporate aspect permeates so much of this picture that it begins and ends with footage of the game’s development. Moments like that nearly rob the film of its racing appeal, evoking the feel more of a marketing reel.

Conclusion: Gran Turismo

There’s a lot of hard work under the hood of Gran Turismo that narrowly crosses the finish line of a compelling racing film. It’s a well-shot movie with racing that makes up for the ho-hum drama that unfolds off the track. There’s a certain tension to see how the stellar racing footage can pick up the slack of a rather paint-by-numbers sports biography.

On that level, this is no Ford v. Ferrari, which managed to entice throughout. But for a film based on a video game, this picture speeds more than it stalls. It sticks to a predictable track but speeds well enough along to appreciate its mechanical competency. Watch it for the racing, and try to keep your lead-finger off the fast-forward button for its lesser drama.

Gran Turismo is currently playing in theaters.

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