Director: Neill Blomkamp 
Starring: David Harbour, Orlando Bloom, Archie Madekwe, Darren Barnet, Geri Halliwell Horner, Djimon Hounsou
Certificate: 12A
Run Time: 134 mins

Gran Turismo is the latest by director Neill Blomkamp, an adaptation of the PlayStation race simulator video game of the same name. It tells the true story of Jann Mardenborough, a devoted teenage gamer who is given an opportunity to turn his racing driver dreams into reality when he is invited to take part in a Nissan-funded competition. This initiative startled the racing world, after all, you can’t just press the reset button if you wreck a car in reality. 

Blomkamp made his name in sci-fi and ever since his startling debut District 9, his career has been on a downward trajectory. The reception to his follow-up Elysium was rather ambivalent and CHAPPiE effectively killed his career, with the director removed from an Alien project. I thought the icy reception to Elysium and CHAPPiE was rather unfair, both brimming with ideas and CHAPPiE, in many ways, represented a bombastic culmination of his work.  

After a six year hiatus, Blomkamp directed the found-footage horror Demonic, which received the worst reviews of his career and now here we are. A video-game-cum-sports-drama seems like an odd fit for the sci-fi director, so how does the film fare?

Despite the underwhelming marketing, Gran Turismo fares surprisingly well. Although formulaic, Blomkamp manages to blend the genres reasonably well and he mostly hits the right notes with an underdog story that’s full of heart. Some of the race sequences are quite tense, if not predictable, although there is an over-reliance on CGI as Blomkamp tries to bridges the gap between Mardenborough racing on the console and on a real track. A late sequence in Le Mans sees the racer visualise he is back in the comfort of his home playing in the simulator, with the car digitally deconstructing around him, which is executed rather clumsily. The film’s generally lacking in subtlety, be it from the clunky script and domineering score by Lorne Balfe and Andrew Kawczynski. 

Best known for Midsommar, Archie Madekwe gives an earnest and grounded performance as Mardenborough. David Harbour’s the highlight, however, as Jack Salter – the hardened, grizzled coach who trains the gamers and effectively forms a surrogate father bond with Mardenborough as the film progresses. Orlando Bloom isn’t brilliant as a slimeball marketing executive, with a wandering accent and hammy delivery, but it doesn’t detract too much from the film. Djimon Hounsou’s reliable as Mardenborough’s footballer father, although it’s a shame the bond between them isn’t further developed. 

It’s also a little disappointing Blomkamp doesn’t inject much of his authorial stamp on the film. Although an early sequence where Mardenborough and his brother head out on a drinking session is set in an industrial, grimy location, it lacks the grit of Blomkamp’s other work. It also feels uncharacteristic of Blomkamp to lack an over-the-top villain, although Bloom is the closest-fitting performance. 

Still, the fact Gran Turismo has received mixed-to-positive reviews can only be beneficial for Blomkamp to getting back to his sci-fi roots if it acts as a stepping stone. Although it’s content to not reinvent the wheel, I had fun with Gran Turismo and it tells a reasonably gripping story. It’s a lot better than it has any right to be by racing video game standards – one only needs to cast their mind back to Need For Speed or Speed Racer.

⭐⭐⭐ (Good)