Gran Turismo – Film Review

Director – Neill Blomkamp
Writers – Jason Hall, Zach Baylin, Alex Tse
Stars – David Harbour, Orlando Bloom, Archie Madekwe

Did you play computer games during your youth? If so, you’ll be familiar with the excuse that playing them is good for your hand/ eye coordination! I used that line immediately after being told I was wasting my time playing them. The weird thing is that it turns out to be true, as one veteran of the computer game world actually made something of himself in real life. Yes, Jann Mardenborough used to play the computer game Gran Turismo but eventually ended up a racecar driver, after winning the GT Academy competition, beating 90,000 entrants. If it wasn’t a true story, you’d say it was very far-fetched!

We meet Jann (Archie Madekwe) in his teenage years. His Dad, Djimon Hounsou (Steve Mardenborough) is an ex-professional footballer and is annoyed he’s wasting his time playing computer games in his bedroom instead of focusing on sports or college. Jann is working a dead-end job in a clothes shop and spending his nights playing computer games. When he hears about the GT Academy, could his dreams come true? Well, it would be a very short film if they didn’t!

If you’re a fan of kitsch, you’ll be delighted to hear that champion Tory voter and one-time Ginger Spice, Geri Halliwell Horner plays Lesley Mardenborough. It’s a small enough part and surprisingly she isn’t as wooden as you’d expect. Orlando Bloom has a relatively small part as a marketing executive for Nissan called Danny Moore. In terms of the acting, David Harbour is head and shoulders above the rest of the cast, as he plays Jack Salter, the one-time racecar driver who retired under mysterious circumstances.

The director is Neill Blomkamp, who I thought was destined for better than this! His first film District 9, is probably still his best. Not that this film is awful, just that it feels a little formulaic in places. There are a few surprises along the way, but I suspect that’s because the script is based on real life, and there were a few events they couldn’t ignore. The film’s highlights are the racing scenes, which are surprisingly taut and exciting. Its target market is fans of the computer game, who are mostly teenagers, and it’ll do well with that demographic. The film isn’t the most challenging affair, but if you’re in the mood for some high-speed racing and fiery crashes, this will be right up your alley.