By Keith Walther | Rose Law Group Reporter
Race car movies tend to follow a very specified formula, and this one is no different. “Gran Turismo,” a popular racing game by Playstation, is loosely based on a true story, emphasis on loosely. Many of the important facts depicted in the film are true, but the how and when differ from reality in order to fulfill the cookie cutter filmmaking approach.
A young gamer, Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe), is obsessed with the “Gran Turismo” video game, logging obscene hours with aspirations of being the best racer in the world. When Nissan executive Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom) announces a video game competition with the winners receiving the opportunity to become a real-life professional race car driver, Jann jumps at the chance to make his dream a reality. Despite attempts from his father Steve (Djimon Hounsou) to temper his enthusiasm, Jann joins the team of gamers to vie for a spot on the professional circuit.
Jack Salter (David Harbour) is a chief engineer tasked with training and testing the young gamers to discover who among them will be best suited to become a professional driver. As Jann quickly realizes, beating fellow gamers is one thing, but racing against world class drivers is quite another. In the real world, making an error on the track may not simply cost the chance at victory, it may cost him his life.
If an underdog race car driver, a grumpy and reluctant chief engineer, a race montage sequence, and a buildup to the ultimate racing event rings a bell, that’s because this was done before to greater effect with “Days of Thunder.” Accomplished filmmaker Neill Blomkamp, best known for his sci-fi films like “District 9,” “Chappie,” and “Elysium,” directs “Gran Turismo,” and to put it bluntly he should stick to science fiction. While the film is based on the true story of Jann Mardenborough, Blomkamp strays from actual events a bit too often that tarnish the film’s credibility in order to make more compelling drama for audiences. For instance, there’s a fatal wreck shown to have happened prior to the climactic race at Le Mans, but that accident didn’t occur until years after the events depicted in the film.
The disregard for truth extends to the lack of detail orientation, as Blomkamp makes entirely too many glaring errors that were missed in the editing room. The story takes place between 2011 and 2012, but there are several occasions when the film depicts contradictory evidence of future years. During racing scenes, specifically Le Mans, shots of other racetracks are intermixed with the famous French course. These are just some of the more obvious mistakes that detract from the production quality.
Even with all its flaws, Blomkamp still manages to salvage entertainment value by leaning on his strength, visual effects. The visuals are stunning throughout the film, particularly when he morphs the gaming chair/electronics set up into the cockpit of a sports car, complete with the car’s inner components. It is a very cool ooh and awe type of moment. And despite “Gran Turismo” being a rehash of past racing movies, the storyline, character development, and racing scenes are compelling enough with quality visuals and cinematography to make for a pretty fun ride.
It’s clear that David Harbour is the star of this cast with his stellar performance. Even though his character is completely fictitious, this frees him up to make it his own, bringing that Hopper vibe from “Stranger Things” into this role. He’s so comfortable in the role that his reactions seem completely natural and authentic, which helps his co-stars achieve the same kind of comfort level.
No one benefits more from Harbour’s presence than the lead, Archie Madekwe, whose best scenes are with the veteran actor. The young English actor, who had a prominent role on the Apple TV show “See,” is a bit unrefined but has potential. At times, his performance in this film is riveting, but other times quite forgettable.
While it may be far from perfect, “Gran Turismo” does just enough to deliver an entertaining experience with an interesting, albeit misleading true story. And don’t worry, you don’t need to be familiar with the video game to enjoy it.
This movie earns:
