Gran Turismo

I watched Gran Turismo early as part of Regal's Mystery Movie Monday. For some perspective, I've never watched professional racing or played Gran Turismo. And I'm generally not a fan of based-on-true-story against-all-odds movies. They're usually all the same.

The reason I say all this is to illustrate that the movie had to be really good to win me over. And it definitely does. Even though it goes through many of the same motions as these types of movies, it does it all so well. I was fully invested in the story, the characters and their outcomes. My crowd was really into it as well.

I can't speak to how the movie translates the game, but they creatively incorporate some cool visuals. It helps it feel like a video game movie as opposed to a movie about a video game. The race scenes are awesome, you really feel like you're there. I like the cast, with the two leads being the obvious standouts. And there are some really heartfelt moments.

I had a great time with Gran Turismo. It's definitely a movie you want to see on a premium screen (IMAX, Dolby Atmos, etc). I think most people will like it, gamer or not, race fan or not, old, young, etc.

(1 viewing, early screening Mystery Movie Monday 7/24/2023)

As a side note, I'm really hoping we've turned a corner with video game movies, similar to what happened to super hero movies in the early 2000's. I really enjoyed Sonic 1 and 2, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie is in contention for my favorite movie of the year.

There is still so much potential. If they continue down the super hero path, then someone like Christopher Nolan will take a property and show what can truly be done. My dream would be for Metroid to be the Dark Knight trilogy of video game movies.

Gamer Jann Mardenborough, a Gran Turismo supremo gets the chance to compete for a chance at the big time, a chance at The Nissan GT Academy, and subsequently a shot at winning a contract with Nissan racing.

To say this is as far off my type of movie as possible is an understatement, I stood out at the cinema like a sore thumb, I didn't expect to enjoy it, but I have to say it, it's a very good movie.

If you're expecting Fast and Furious, don't, sure it's full of speed and it's high octane, but it's more a triumph against the odds sort of story, with Jann the central character, a guy from Wales, taking on the elite at their own game, in what is an elite sport.

Jann faces challenge after challenge, and just when you think he's succeeded, he's thrown another curve ball.

Some very good use of special effects, the crash scenes in particular look amazingly realistic. There's also some wonderful location work too, they really did make use of several world-wide locations.

Archie Madekwe does a great job as Jann, he puts in an excellent performance, you really do see the young man develop and grow through the film. Always good to see Bloom, and he played the part well, David Harbour was excellent I thought, he added a lot to the overall story.

Is this the most random soundtrack ever, I never thought Kenny G, Black Sabbath and Enya would feature together in the same cinema, let alone the same movie.

I never thought I'd welling up over a bluebird, but there you have it, there were one of two very touching scenes.

Hard to imagine it's based on a true story, but credit where it's due, it translated into a fine movie.

7/10.

What an absolutely fun romp of a movie that was done a great disservice by its advertising campaigns. Unlike its very bad marketing would have you believe this is a great watch with an engaging story, anger inducing antagonists and some amazing acting performances, David Harbour is especially good as Jan's main guy. Orlando Bloom was also very good and Archie Madekwe should Sue the trailer house for displaying his performance as anything other than stellar. The movie has some problems of course, some of the CGI is abysmal and feels like it was a mix of bad CGI and wanting to make it look like a video game at all times, and the end result is really distracting. Also the movie loves to just abandon characters that could really go somewhere. Overall though, it's a great watch and I would highly recommend you ignore the trailers (that give away a weird amount of the plot) and go watch this film.

Gran Turismo is a terrifically executed sports movie, fizzing with energy and momentum from start to finish.

It follows the story of Jann Mardenborough, a gamer who always dreamed of becoming a professional racer. Thanks to the Gran Turismo academy he suddenly finds himself with a chance to make his dream a reality. It's a wild story and the fact that it is based on real events is astounding.

Even though the real events are unbelievable, the story beats are all pretty familiar and follow the usual sports movie formula. There's the underdog, the jaded mentor, the belligerent rival, the customary montage. None of this is ground breaking but it is all well presented and packaged up. The fact it is based on real events adds that bit of extra excitement and besides, who doesn't love an underdog story?

The direction from Blomkamp is crisp and clean yet also energetic and chaotic, which makes for a visually engaging film. You really feel the excitement and thrill and danger of the racing, which was crucial to establish and get across, and was handled well.

In terms of performances, Archie Madekwe is a really solid lead, bringing a strong emotional presence and charisma to his character. David Harbour brings his character to life perfectly with a thoroughly engaging performance, and Djimon Hounsou is a scene stealer with some of the more emotional baggage.

I wasn't expecting to like this movie as much as I did, but I was impressed! It has an unbelievable story to tell and it does it very effectively. A lot of it feels quite derivative of the underdog sports film genre, but the great direction and solid performances raise this film up above many of its peers, resulting in a thoroughly entertaining movie.

I'm not a gamer, I have an old version of GT kicking around I may have played last 5+ years ago, but no matter, what an incredible true story this was! I had no clue this actual story happened, and as far as true-events films go, this is right up there with the best. It's a true underdog inspirational story that was cast perfectly, and filmed just as great, with stunning effects, visuals and camera work. The pacing and story-flow was just right, in that the 134 min runtime flew by quickly. Watching it in a 4DX theatre added to the experience for sure. It's a well deserved 8/10 from me. Now I just may have to go find that old GT game and throw it in and go for a spin.