Ryan Shoots First: Gran Turismo

I have a lot of thoughts about Gran Turismo.

Let me start by saying I play A LOT of Gran Turismo. Up until very recently, I had spent more money on my Sim-Rig than my actual car (I’ll post a photo below). I race in the online series, I’m an A-rated driver, and I stream on YouTube to really no one (subscribe @ RyCamN7 🙂). So I am firmly in the exact target audience for this movie. Gran Turismo was the first game I ever got on my first PlayStation so long ago I really can’t even pinpoint which birthday it was I got it. I say this to establish how much it pained me when I watched the first trailer and thought “Oh man does this look bad”. I mean it looked cheesy, the writing all seemed like ChatGPT pumped it out, super formulaic and it looked like a cheap cash-in on an established name with maybe some cool shots of cars. The second trailer looked a little better but my hopes were still not very high going in. 

It pleases me to tell you Gran Turismo is way better than it has any right to be. The first act is a little cringy, the stuff around the game can be cheesy and the dialogue is a little wooden but oh man once we move into the second act this really takes off. It stops becoming a movie about a game and becomes a motorsport movie with the fact the main character played a game just being part of the plot. It’s a great underdog story of an outsider just looking for his shot, and when he gets it persevering through more than he ever thought he would have to battle. It is a story of a father who never understood how playing those “dang vigigames” was ever gonna get his son anywhere. The movie takes some jabs at gamer stereotypes but all from positions of ignorance, it plays into them but not for laughs at the character’s expense. They are used to establish the barriers he must knock down to be taken seriously in this new world he’s only ever experienced in the virtual world. And yes Gran Turismo is based on a true story and yes the story did completely change motorsport. Now nearly every racer from Formula 1 to Sports cars to NASCAR spends hours on simulators. Their race shops have multi-million dollar set-ups and the rigs these guys have at home are pulled straight out of lifestyles of the rich and famous. Jann and team Nissan proved that skills developed in the sim really could translate to real-world success. Sim Racing on its own has become a big-time business with multiple series that span the globe sometimes taking place at real tracks. One series even combines the two having real race teams have their E-Sports division drivers drive for points that count towards their real world teams championship. So I guess it isn’t hard to see why some smart suit thought “Hey I bet we could make a movie about all this”. 

I mentioned how the movie takes off in the second half and that is really in part due to the role David Harbour plays as the ex-racer and race engineer Jack. At first, Jack isn’t on board with this whole thing but Jann, played by Archie Madekwe, wins him over with his dedication, perseverance, and natural abilities. When these two get together and begin to establish their relationship the movie hits its stride. They have great chemistry and Harbour brings heart to the film that many other actors wouldn’t have, I don’t think the movie works without him in that role. There are some emotional scenes in the film and Harbour has two lines specifically that really just hit hard and are up there with some great Sports Movie moments. One is in regards to the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans race and he says “Make the day, survive the night, and live to see tomorrow” It just kept sticking with me. I won’t share the other because it’s a pretty big emotional beat in the film. The other heavy hitter is Jann’s father Steve played by Djimon Honsou another established actor who dives into the role of the overbearing father who just wants to see his kids succeed but just can’t wrap his mind around this gamer stuff. He and Archie have a powerful scene later in the film and I’ll just say I’m always a sucker for a proud dad scene.

Beyond the performances director Neil Blomkamp brings a cool style to the film, really playing off the cars, intercut shots of motor parts spinning, overlays like in the game, and some cool drone shots make this look really unlike anything he’s done before, it drips with a unique style all its own. The sights and sounds are worth checking out on the big screen. So if you excuse me I am all hopped up on that race jazz so I am gonna boot up my PlayStation, jump into some races, and probably get punted into the shadow realm in the first turn (If you know you know).