Gran Turismo (2023)
In 2023’s Gran Turismo, Jann (“Yan”) Mardenborough — one of the world’s best players of the video game Gran Turismo — is one of ten gamers selected to join a new racing team headed by Nissan. Nissan’s “GT Academy” team, led by marketing genius Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom), brings in retired racer Jack Salter (David Harbour) to put these Gran Turismo experts through their paces in real cars on a real track, with the ultimate goal of turning the winner of GT Academy into a very real race car driver.
Gran Turismo is based on a true story. Well, Danny Moore isn’t a real person, and neither is Jack Salter. Also, Jann didn’t win the first GT Academy; he competed in the third. The film also leaves out the four months of training the gamers received before driving real cars. But, for what it’s worth, Jann Mardenborough is a real guy, and he really did win a Gran Turismo tournament, and he did eventually become a real race car driver. I suppose Gran Turismo was indeed based on a true story, heavy on the “based on.” If you want to be perfectly honest, the credits should actually read “based on The Last Starfighter,” but I digress.
Jann overcomes a few struggles along his journey, but not that many. His dad wants his son to go back to college, or come to work with him, or start playing soccer, or really just do anything except play Gran Turismo on his PlayStation all day. Every single person in the racing world, including a lot of Nissan executives, think the program is a bad idea, but… eh. They let ’em race anyway. Several drivers (some on his own team, some on the circuit) give Jann a hard time for being a videogame player, but they stop pretty quick. It’s not as if Jann doesn’t run into conflict along the way, it’s that each one just kind of fades away on its own. Even when Jann is involved in a serious accident, mentor Salter says “that sucked bro you gotta race some more” and Jann says “okay” and vroom vroom, off he goes.
Fans of videogames, or racing, or especially rans of racing videogames will enjoy this film. The cinematography during the racing scenes is amazing, and while I’m quite sure much of it is digital, it’s difficult to spot the difference. Cameras zoom in, around, and even through cars, occasionally peeking inside engines to show us, you know, mechanical thingies on the brink of self-destruction churning away. There are plenty of commentators, in-ear chatter, and pop-up information to ensure audiences are always (literally and figuratively) in the loop.
Viewers are reminded multiple times that Jann honed his skills by playing Gran Turismo on his PlayStation. When a part of his car fails, he know why because of the game. Jann even knows how to drive faster, better, and which lines to take thanks to the game. The only thing missing from this film is a QR code at the end to purchase Gran Turismo.
Gran Turismo requires a little suspension of belief, the least of which comes from the fact that the world’s greatest ten Gran Turismo players are all beautiful and thin, but the dream of being appreciated in real life for being good at playing videogames is likely to help teenage boys overcome that hurdle. If you like movies where kids get to give the whole world the middle finger while standing on the winner’s podium, this is the film for you. It’s the feel good hit of 2023. Well, not that part where a guy gets killed, but the rest of it, sure — feel good!