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"Gran Turismo" Takes Cinema to the Fast Lane

Paulina Macedo

Gran Turismo, Neill Blomkamp's most recent film, takes viewers on a gripping, fast-paced journey that pushes the limits of action filmmaking. Blomkamp, who is best known for his thought-provoking works, switches up his usual subject matter to deliver an action-packed extravaganza that will get your heart racing.


Image: Sony Pictures


From the late 1990s onward, the Gran Turismo racing games for PlayStation have generated substantial revenues, comparable to the lucrative earnings of certain movie franchises. It was inevitable that a cinematic adaptation would emerge, joining the ranks of other live-action versions of PlayStation games like "Uncharted" from the previous year. The film "Gran Turismo" narrates the remarkable (albeit improbable) journey of Jann Mardenborough, a Gran Turismo enthusiast who transitioned into a professional race car driver competing on real racetracks.


Mardenborough takes a jump from the pixels to the track leading his way to the start of his underdog story as a way of saying that racing for him is more than just a game. Is he going to make it out in the real world?—is what he and many viewers were asking themselves throughout the movie, proving his worth as a racecar driver.


Following Jann's father's discouragement of a gaming-related future and his accompanying visit to the rail yard where his father works, Jann goes against his father's wishes and triumphs in a Nissan-sponsored competition, designed to identify promising Gran Turismo players. As a result, he secures a position within the racing company's training academy, overseen by the stern engineer Jack (David Harbour) and the suave marketer Danny (Orlando Bloom). Once again, Jann exceeds expectations, outperforming a competitor who may be more telegenic and thus earning himself the chance to pursue a professional racing career.


The movie adopts a video game-like structure as Jann engages in races around the world to secure his contract with Nissan. Eventually, he triumphs over a conceited frontrunner (Josha Stradowski) in Dubai and celebrates his win in Tokyo. However, his luck takes a downturn when he crashes his car in the subsequent race, although the film rearranges the sequence of events compared to the real incident involving Mardenborough in 2015. As is customary in many sports films, the storyline is marked by extensive training and competitive events, gradually building anticipation. The pinnacle of the story unfolds during the annual 24-hour race at Le Mans.


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A fantastic mid-budget film to cap off the summer season and a real crowd favorite. The visuals in this film, which feature both stunning car mechanics and video game elements woven into the racing scenes, are absolutely incredible, and Blomkamp directs it to the hilt. Some crucial scenes feature tension that is at an all-time high, making this a surprisingly suspenseful film. The star of the movie and exceptional actor David Harbour in particular deserves to be in the running for best supporting actor at the Oscars, so hopefully he gets a nomination!


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