Yes, you can spend hours in front of a video game and wind up on the track at Le Mans.
That’s the premise behind “Gran Turismo,” a based-in-fact drama about a teenage gamer who longs to be a race car driver but doesn’t have the connections.
When the game’s makers offer up an opportunity, Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe) gets into the competition, much to his father’s dismay. Dad (Djimon Hounsou), like many fathers, thinks gaming is a waste of time and won’t lead to anything.
Still, the kid earns a spot in the GT Academy, a training facility that plays right into the hands of the folks behind Gran Turismo. To prove as much, the public relations guy (noisily played by Orlando Bloom) rubs his hands at every turn, hoping this stunt will double sales of the game. A “real” driver (played by “Stranger Things’” David Harbour) has doubts anyone can do it but agrees to coach Jann to the starting lineup.
Archie Madekwe stars in Columbia Pictures' "Gran Turismo."
Naturally, there’s a lot of “Rocky” in this film and a series of “really?” situations that make the “true story” label a bit suspicious.
Still, director Neill Blomkamp keeps the film moving and puts his leading man in plenty of white-knuckle situations. An accident happens, even though it wasn’t in the time frame that “Gran Turismo” suggests. Instead, it adds to the “will he or won’t he?” feel and gives dad a moment to regret his decision to let the kid follow his dream.
Spice Girl Geri Halliwell-Horner plays Jann’s mom in a low-key Imelda Staunton way. She doesn’t get the outbursts Hounsou does but she’s there for the moments that matter. A girlfriend is, too, even though Blomkamp doesn’t track the relationship as closely as he should.
Instead, “Gran Turismo” borrows a little from “Top Gun,” “Bend it Like Beckham” and “Ford v. Ferrari” to make audiences feel like this is how a rags-to-riches story should play out.
Unlike “Air,” “Gran Turismo” doesn’t have scenes that suggest this stunt could go awry. At best, it lets Bloom act like Corey Lewandowski at a Trump rally.
Madekwe, who would be super in a live-action version of “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” keeps much of the tension in check and looks like he actually could drive like a pro. He’s tall (which could be a deterrent) and willing to listen to whatever Burgess Meredith instructions Harbour gives.
Totally predictable, “Gran Turismo” doesn’t have the kind of photography that would make this seem like a 1960s Cinerama epic. It’s a fairly scrappy film, filled with drone shots that track the cars but don’t get in the way.
Orlando Bloom plays a marketing pro who believes he can take a gamer and make him a racecar driver in "Gran Turismo."
Jann Mardenborough, a British professional racing driver, who was the inspiration for the "Gran Turismo" movie describes how he was able to translate his video gaming skills into real life racing.
