The MovieMaven: August 2023

"If you miss a line in the game, you reset. You miss it on the track, you could die."

If anyone were to tell me that there's a movie about a video gamer turned race car driver, I'd say that's a cool concept, but doesn't sound believable. “Gran Turismo” is the unbelievable story of Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe), who did just that. Even cooler? The real Mardenborough stars as a stunt driver of the movie made based on his life story.

College-bound Jann has been playing the PlayStation's Gran Turismo video game in his bedroom for years. Not just any game, GT is a simulator of the real deal, from the vehicles to racing circuits, track by track. The expert sim racer has dreamed to become a race car driver since he was a child, to the worry of his parents, especially his dad, Steve (Djimon Hounsou). Steve used to be a football player, until real life set in. He warns Jann to not make the same mistake, go to college instead, and find a career grounded in reality.

Jann masters the power of manifestation in spades. Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom; ”Carnival Row,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Lord of the Rings” series, ), a slick marketer with Nissan, came up with an outrageous idea to turn a GT gamer into a real race car driver. This would translate into worldwide publicity and sell a crazy number of cars. While far-fetched and awfully risky, his pitch somehow got green-lit.

Danny then had to convince a former racer turned chief engineer, Jack Salter (David Harbour) to get onboard and train select gamers into racers. Based on his scores, Jann was selected to compete in the GT Academy sim racing. Yann made it to the competition at the last minute, outraced more than 90,000 of virtual racers and earned a chance in a lifetime, a seat at the GT Academy. Along with nine other virtual racers from eight countries, they converge at the GT Academy, begin the most grueling training and toughest race of their lives.

Being an expert virtual racer in front of a console is one thing, turning into an elite race car driver is a whole other level. As you can imagine, it requires tremendous strength and endurance, physical prowess and mental stamina of professional athletes. Jaded Jack makes it clear that he intends to show and prove that none of the gamers could make it in real life as race car drivers.

Jann proves his mettle and beats out the rest. A surprising moment arrives when it comes to deciding the true winner of a really narrow race. Jann, unassuming and press-shy mixed-race kid, is not exactly a poster child for media circuits. The deck is stacked against him, fortunately, destiny is on his side. Traveling around the world, he goes on to qualify for and obtain his FIA license. Jack's relationship with Yann has also evolved into a mentorship. Tough love with respect, care, warmth and humor.

Professional race car drivers turn up their noses. Motorsport racing is inherently dangerous. Not only you have to completely believe in and rely on yourself to react right and make a split-second decision when the moment counts, you're also at the mercy of nature. While track, air and wind conditions could be predicted, they are not exact and there's always unpredictability when it comes to elements of nature. Mixing these extreme levels of speed, the result could be disastrous or even fatal.

It's inevitably proven to be the case, as spectacular crashes and airborne cars are shown onscreen. And when tragedy hits, Yann is humanly tested to his limit; this traumatic experience could define him for the rest of his life, and his life could understandably go into a very different direction. He has to decide whether he could and would overcome the life-altering event, move forward, commit with conviction and realize his ultimate dream, culminating in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race.

The way the scenes are shot are incredible, crisp images and motions, cleanly directed by Director Neil Blomkamp (“Elysium”), seamlessly juxtaposing sweeping aerial views and up-close shots, lighthearted moments and focused high-stake intensity, combusting in life or death situations.

The visual effects of transparent and imaginary cars disintegrating and reintegrating are cool. When the rubber meets the road, the camera zooms in on the revving up of the engine, nuts and bolts turning, rising smoke and friction-induced, fire flickers.

While the movie doesn't dig deep into character development and this is a far leaner version of the more complex “Rush," it's hard to fault a triumph-against-all-odds story that serves up heart-racing sequences. It's always thrilling to see an underdog rise to the top.

If there's a theater near you that plays Screen X, I highly recommend that you see the flick in this format. Better than IMAX, the wraparound screen will envelope you in a much more immersive experience, putting you in the racer's seat.

Behind the winning wheel of “Gran Turismo” is a grand sensation of an impossible dream coming true and a pulse-pounding personal triumph.