GRAN TURISMO Review – Product Marketing Disguised As A Clichéd Sports Movie

Introduction

With Gran Turismo, director Neill Blomkamp delivers an adrenaline-filled true story filled with every sports movie cliché you could imagine. Despite the riveting racing sequences, the non-stop product placement can leave a bitter taste in your mouth.

Synopsis

Archie Madekwe stars as Jann Mardenborough, a young Gran Turismo player with big dreams to become a real-life racer. Nissan marketing executive Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom) concocts an idea to introduce the best Gran Turismo players to drive real cars. To do it, Danny recruits former racer Jack Salter (David Harbor) to run the academy.

Jann faces skepticism from Jack, his fellow racers, and his disapproving father Steve (Djimon Hounsou). As Jann competes in some harrowing races, events begin to escalate which will prove whether or not Jann belongs in the world of race cars.

Themes/Direction

When it comes to sports movie clichés, it’s almost impressive how many Gran Turismo hits. An underdog not accepted for his talent, the disapproving father, the tortured mentor, the corporate undermining, the emotional setbacks, the overtly evil rival, and the longing love story in the background. It’s almost as if the script was written from a sports-movie mad libs with a tinge of the true story sprinkled in.

That’s not to say the film isn’t entertaining, but it all feels gross. Sony, PlayStation, Nissan, and the Gran Turismo game itself are plastered on every possible surface and mentioned in the same breath as Mercedes and McLaren when it comes to race cars. It’s like the filmmakers are attempting to convince themselves of their own convictions in order to give the film an element of stakes.

Speaking of filmmakers, Blomkamp is at an interesting point in his career. Following his monumental opening success of District 9 (2009), his career began to flutter with the relatively tepid reaction to his follow-ups Elysium (2013) and Chappie (2015). His previous effort Demonic (2021) was a small indie release, leading to a tipping point in his career. With the direction of Gran Turismo, Blomkamp has delivered exactly what a studio wants from a film which will probably allow him to pursue more personal projects again.

Cast

Madekwe is more of a vessel than a character. He is in almost every scene of the film but does most of the work behind the wheel. He isn’t bad, but the audience is supposed to be actively rooting for the success of Jann. Madekwe isn’t a chasm of charisma, but he mostly gets blown off the screen by Harbor.

When it comes to Harbor, he immediately endears himself to the audience from his first appearance. Gruff, straightforward, and hilarious, Jack isn’t a character to suffer fools, which makes Harbor the perfect vessel. As seriously as Jack takes everything in the film, Harbor is having a blast with the character.

Bloom isn’t doing much besides serving as an occasional reminder of who is in charge. Meanwhile, Hounsou does his usual elevation of material. Harbor is perfectly aware of the kind of film he is in, while Hounsou treats the film as a high-stakes familial drama. His commitment might be a bit misguided, but his performance is excellent.

Conclusion

Gran Turismo works in a lot of ways. As a true story, it gets plenty correct and as a race-car film, it excels. As unbridled product marketing, it’s a runaway success. However, as an entertaining time at the movies, results may vary.

Gran Turismo was released in limited theaters in the United States by Sony Pictures Releasing on August 11, 2023, and is set to expand nationwide on August 25, 2023.

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