Gran Turismo movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Gran Turismo

This exciting, heartfelt, underdog film is now playing in theaters.

RATING: PG-13

LENGTH: 2 hours 14 minutes

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE: A

IN A NUTSHELL:

The story would be great as just a story, but what makes it even more impressive is that it’s based on the real story of Jann Mardenborough, a Gran Turismo player who actually became a professional race car driver! Jann gets to play a stunt double in the movie for the actor who plays him. Sweet!

I don’t play racing video games but I still really enjoyed this movie!

The film was directed by Neill Blomkamp. Writing credtis go to Jason Hall, Zach Baylin, and Alex Tse.

THINGS I LIKED:

Archie Madekwe delivers big time in this! I’m thinking this is his big break in Hollywood. Congrats!
David Harbour does an excellent job, as always. Fans of the popular Netflix TV show Stranger Things will love him in this.
It’s great to see Orlando Bloom in something again! He hasn’t been in a wide release since 2014! His character is inspired by the real Darren Cox who founded GT Academy to help Sony Playstation give racing gamers a real chance in the world of professional racing drivers.
Darren Barnet’s character is inspired by the real Brian Heitkotter, who won the GT Academy with Jann Mardenborough in 2011.
You’ll notice a former Spice Girl in the movie: Geri Halliwell. In real life, she’s married to a professional racer for Red Bull: Christian Horner.
Djimon Hounsou is underutilized but has one of the most powerful moments in the film.
There are so many cool moments in the film. For example, the real Kazunori Yamauchi is the sushi chef in Japan who smiles at Jann.
Hungaroring in Hungary was used for many of the racing scenes, designed to look like different locations around the world.
Michelin Tires was the official tire partner for the movie, providing all of the rubber in the movie.
I love the two songs featured in the movie that the main character listens to a lot: Kenny G: Songbird (1987) and Enya: Orinoco Flow – Sail Away (1988). What do YOU listen to in order to relax, focus, or be inspired by?
There is a lot of humor, as well as inspirational lines.
The action is exciting and will definitely give gamers the thrill they love. In fact, I love that so many video game elements are included in the telling of this story.
Video game movie adaptations used to be notoriously terrible, but are we seeing an uptick of good ones? It sure looks that way. Yay! Two of my four sons work in the video game industry and are thrilled by that.
At the end of the movie, we get to see video clips and photographs of the real people involved in the true events told in the movie.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

It’s extremely predictable but I didn’t care. This was fun, made even better by the fact that the events in the story really happened!
Some have complained that the details in the story aren’t entirely accurate. I still didn’t care. It’s so inspiring and energizing.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Some profanity
We see several racing car wrecks.
Talk of race car drivers who died in crashes.
Bullying

THEMES:

Persistence
Hope
Hard work
Making your dreams come true
Believing in yourself

FUNNY LINES:

“Follow the kids around the track. Make some notes. Act like an engineer. Look cool.” -Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom)
“Let’s go, you gamer kids. This must be a new experience for you. Last time you stretched your legs was to go get another packet of Hot Pockets from the freezer!” – Jack Salter (David Harbour)
“Grabbed a bunch of cones back there. Extra points!” – Jack Salter (David Harbour)
“That was actually pretty great.” – Jack Salter (David Harbour)
“Out of the couch-surfing nerds that you sent me, he is the best one.” – Jack Salter (David Harbour)
“Much easier with a joystick, isn’t it?” – Race Car Driver

INTERESTING LINES:

“Jann, all you do is play video games with some crazy dreams of racing cars.” – Steve Mardenborough (Djimon Hounsou) “Dad, you’re the one that told us to always do something we love.” – Jann Mardenborough (Archie Mardenborough)
“The guys who race are elite athletes.” – Jack Salter (David Harbour)
“If you miss a line in the game, you reset. If you miss it on the track, you could die.” – Jack Salter (David Harbour)
“You got to prove to everyone that you belong.” – Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom)
“Most people can’t. Now, I got a feeling you’re not most people.” – Jack Salter (David Harbour)