For one reason or another, I cannot believe that Gran Turismo is the first film based on the video game. Perhaps I'm getting it confused with the likes of Need for Speed, but perhaps after seeing this film, it makes sense. Gran Turismo isn't bad so much as it's filled with ideas but never takes a chance to settle into cruise control as it races to its finish.
Gran Turismo review
Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe) is living the life of any teenager — he sits in his room and plays video games. His game of choice — or, “simulator,” as he calls them — happens to be Gran Turismo. He's a pro-level gamer that is letting down the likes of his father (played by Djimon Hounsou), who's a former pro football player, and his brother (played by Daniel Puig), a rising football star.
Meanwhile, in the corporate world, Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom) has the idea of having an online race with the very best players from around the world because people don't seek adventure and would rather “sit in the backseat of an Uber” according to him. The winner gets the chance to go to Gran Turismo Academy. As you'd expect, Jann wins and goes on to GT Academy where he meets Jack Salter (David Harbour), a former racer himself who will become his trainer. After earning his stripes through GT Academy (basically Top Gun for gamers), Jann earns the chance to become a real racer against real drivers.
It's quite an inspirational story, it's just too bad that the Gran Turismo script was in the wrong hands. Jason Hall and Zach Baylin have written some phenomenal scripts (Baylin wrote King Richard, co-wrote Creed III, and will co-write the upcoming Bob Marley biopic), but they both feel out of their element. No ageism here, but the ages of Hall (51) and Baylin (43) stick out like dads wearing skinny jeans with some of the dialogue heard in Gran Turismo. It's not that they're not capable of writing a competent script, but writing for those from a completely different generation is tough.
Harsh? I think not. At some point in the film, Harbour's character exclaims, “You mad, bro?” (this is one of the milder offenses in the movie). Given Jann's background, the stigma against gamers makes sense and I can see some video game-related insults being thrown around — one of the pit crew members who is well older than Jann asks him, “It's easier on the joysticks, eh?” — but even the fellow GT Academy drivers say terms like “noob” and “I'm gonna nerf you, gamer!” Unless the real-life Jack Salter did a quick Google search of “gaming terms” prior to his start at GT Academy, I have a hard time believing anyone would say something like this and see it as a mic drop moment.
But the dialogue isn't the only place where Gran Turismo's script falters. There are a lot of laps of Jann's life to cover, but there's a rush to get to his pro-driving career that everything prior is brushed over. On one hand, the movie is almost 140 minutes long, but the first 20 minutes give no more than a scene of preface to each major storyline before kicking into gear. It's like reading a murder mystery novel with a large ensemble that gives each character a page of background.
Jack Salter is a former racer who flamed out and is now an engineer. Jack initially works closely with Nicholas Capa (Josha Stradowski), a pretentious trust fund baby who's a decent driver, but only wins in the total of his allowance as Jack puts it. It's clear that he has a tragic backstory, but we're only fed a couple of the typical lines like “Don't you want your shot at redemption?” from Danny when trying to convince Jack to join his program. Later in the film, we do get more backstory, but even Jann's relationship with his father never even slows down to the speed you'd go over a speed bump.
It's hard to balance telling a life story in two hours and some change, I'll concede that. But Flamin' Hot just did it in 100 minutes, and that's exactly where Gran Turismo found its sweet spot. No spoilers here, but after something tragic happens to Jann, Jack takes him out to symbolically conquer that demon. The film ends with a major racing event, and while I get the ambition to end a biographical movie with a huge set piece like Bohemian Rhapsody did with Live Aid, the Rocketman ending is also acceptable and effective.
To give it some credit, the racing sequences in Gran Turismo are quite fun. It's no Speed Racer, but very few tentpole films have that much flare. Jacques Jouffret has served as the DP on dramas like Father Stu and action flicks like Jack Ryan — he's also done horror films such as The Purge — and it's the framing that he does in the racing sequences that make the film a lot more engaging. There are some overcooked drone shots, but it does its job.
In the leading role, Archie Madekwe lacks the charisma needed to fully sell the part. While he can carry his own in some scenes — typically ones with better actors in them — there are other times when he plays the part like he's in a MyCareer story in NBA 2K (he made way more of an impression in his smaller role in Midsommar than he does in the lead of Gran Turismo). Perhaps he's just a victim of circumstance, as Orlando Bloom is clearly here for a quick payday, and David Harbour is the only one where who has some sort of conviction in his performance. Good on him — as whatever amount they paid him to deliver some of the lines he does is an amount I will never see in my lifetime.
Should you see Gran Turismo?
When it comes to video game-related or racing films, Gran Turismo is passable. It's racing scenes are full of life, but as a biographical drama, it's bogged down by a script as outdated as Jack's cassette player in the film and attempting to cover too many miles with not nearly enough road.
Grade: C
Gran Turismo will be released on August 25.
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