Gran Turismo is a biopic racing film directed by Neill Blomkamp. It is based on the true story of Jann Mardenborough who went from playing the Playstation racing simulator to becoming a real race car driver.

Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe) is a gamer whose favorite is Gran Turismo as he dreams of racing cars. His father Steve (Djimon Hounsou) and mother Lesley (Geri Halliwell-Horner) want him to go back to university or play soccer like his brother Coby (Daniel Puig). When Nissan marketing executive Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom) convinces the board to sponsor a team of Gran Turismo gamers to drive real race cars. He recruits former racer Jack Salter (David Harbour) who became the head of training at the “GT Academy.” When Jann qualifies, his racing dreams are within reach, but driving is tougher than he first thought.

Okay, this was a fun movie. It was not perfect by any means, but this film had a lot of drive, yes, the pun was intended.

Columbia Pictures should give the sound engineers a freaking raise. From the car noises to the video game bites and down to the effects, brilliant. It pulled you into the action and added a lot to the overall action sequences.

I also liked the acting. Everyone did a fantastic job. I cannot pinpoint a standout performance, but everyone put their best foot forward for the roles they were given. Madekwe makes Jann a believable protagonist that you can root for throughout the racing events. You genuinely wanted him to cross the finish line.

As for the plot, it kept you hooked. At times, it did linger a little too long during some personal moments and I wish the scene where Jann finally meets Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi, played by Takehiro Hira, had a bit more emotional.

That being said, this movie had me totally engrossed. It is just a cool story about a man who wants to follow his dream of becoming a race car driver. He faces heartache, a tough rival, trial, and tribulation, but he perseveres. It is a rarity in Hollywood these days and I loved that gamers, who are constantly under media scrutiny, got some nice shout-outs in this feature. It was a nice change of pace.

Bottom line, Gran Turismo was probably the most fun I had with a movie this year. It was well made and revved up my excitement for the film.

PARENTAL CONCERNS: Action violence, Some strong foul language

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

Check out the trailer below:

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