- Based on the incredible true story, the film follows the life of Jann Mardenborough who was an avid gamer before his dream turned into a reality by becoming a car racer. What this film offers is something that can inspire everyone; both adults and children and both fans and non-fans of car racing alike. It is moving enough for you to care about the characters, it is inspiring enough for you to realize that it is never too late to achieve your dreams. It is stimulating to the point that you would want to play the titular game right after watching the movie.
- While the story is far from getting that Oscar nod, this film knows that's not what they're going for. It's not about telling the story in a very detailed way, unfolding each event or emotion scrupulously. It's about serving what the fans want. Fans of Gran Turismo and other-related car racing games like Need For Speed & Forza Horizon. And they did that very well. The film did an excellent job of identifying their audience and giving them exactly what they want; a good mixture of story and racing. What's even better is other audience would also enjoy this one as much as die-hard fans of GT.
- Almost half of the film's runtime is set in the car racing track. That's a lot. Watching the film, we know that Neill Blomkamp, the director of District 9 and Chappie did his research and study on a lot of stuff. There's a certain mood that he brought here. That nervous feeling you had when you wanted to pass your driving license? You would feel it again here. Those dangerous racing stunts you saw at the Le Mans race? You would see it here. That Playstation-trademarked sound and those Gran Turismo-customized symbols you would hear and see when playing the game? They're present here. Neill made sure you'll have the best experience in the racing track.
- And yes, you could feel the intensity of the racing scenes. This film gives you that standard upward graph, the further the film goes, the higher the intensity is, and the more heart pumping you will be as the film comes nearer to the end. Even the racing gets tougher and tougher as it progresses with more dangerous race courses filled with twists, turns & dips. Adding onto that, Neill was able to put the audience at the edge of their seats with the powerful camera works. There are some very excellent drone shots here that might just give you the boost for adrenaline rush.
- But... one problem we had during the racing scenes was that we felt that the pacing could be better. They could have shown longer takes between the cuts. If they did this, the intensity could be even bigger. Why Ford V Ferrari is such a masterpiece was because of its pacing. It knew how to give the anxiety in the racing track. Don't get us wrong, Gran Turismo is still excellent but to up the ante, they could have made the pacing better with lesser cuts. Sometimes, we thought that the film was in a super rush mood, that they cut too frequently that one lap was over before you even know it.
- Archie Madekwe as Jann Mardenborough is great. For an up-and-coming actor having to take the lead role, he did a good job portraying Jann. Orlando Bloom as the marketing guy, Danny Moore also did good but David Harbour was the scene stealer here. He plays as Jack Salter, an engineer who helped to train Jann and his fellow competitors. David made his character lively and he made the story more vibrant and colourful with his personality. This trio did carry the movie and it actually made it more interesting.
- However, some pieces of the characters' story were left untold especially for Danny Moore. Yes, this film is more about GT and Jann, but they could have offered us more on his background story or maybe a bit more screen time to get to know his personality and motivation. We felt this film didn't achieve that. Orlando did good but the script for his character was lacking. Same goes for Jann's mom and dad. Their acting are just superb but they weren't given a chance to flesh out their characters and made the audience understand their behaviours or/and actions. Luckily, the story for Jann was well told.
- We're impressed by the visual effects of this film. WOW! Their CGI is soooo much better than most Hollywood films nowadays. Even recent Marvel movies couldn't top this. It wasn't perfect for one but it's a very eye-pleasing viewing experience when you get to see CGI that is just as good as this. While some CGI looks a bit animated, that actually made it better. Why? Because it's a game adaptation film and the CGI made it as if we're watching a gameplay. It has one of the best CGIs this year. *Chef's kiss*
Verdict: An underdog film about an underdog person, Gran Turismo the Movie features slick car racing drama that serves exactly what fans want. It finds the right balance between telling an inspiring true story and adrenaline-filled racing sequences as the film progresses. While the loose storytelling and pacing can be distracting at times, it still manages to keep the audience engaged all the way until the finish line.