In the last year and a half, PlayStation Productions has worked towards taking some of the company’s video game properties and adapting them into different mediums. On the television side of things, this has led to one of the best shows of 2023 so far in The Last of Us, and the surprisingly solid Peacock series Twisted Metal—an odd choice, to be sure. But on the movie side, PlayStation Production hasn’t been nearly as successful. Their first attempt at an adaptation, Uncharted, felt like a watered-down attempt at recreating the video games, even though it was a fitting choice of a franchise to kick off PlayStation Productions.

But maybe the oddest adaptation yet is Gran Turismo, a racing sim known for its incredible realism—and which also has no story to speak of. As a game, the Gran Turismo franchise is an exciting, fast-paced series of races and upgrades to become the greatest racer, but as a movie, Gran Turismo becomes a traffic jam of cliches, poor direction, and an underwhelming story that’ll leave the audience wishing they were watching any of the many other racing movie options open to them.

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What Is ‘Gran Turismo’ About?
Image via Sony

Instead of attempting to shoehorn a story into a video game, Gran Turismo wisely bases its script on the true story of Jann Mardenborough (played by Archie Madekwe), an excellent Gran Turismo player who dreams of one day becoming a professional racer. His father Steve (Djimon Hounsou) thinks his son’s hobby is a waste of time, and that he should start thinking more seriously about his future. However—perfectly timed—Nissan and their marketing executive Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom) have decided to create GT Academy, which will turn the world’s best Gran Turismo players into actual racers. While getting these gamers into racing shape is a tall order, Moore enlists the help of Jack Salter (David Harbour), a former racer who will whip these kids into shape, and help the winner of GT Academy try their hand at becoming a pro.

Written by Jason Hall (American Sniper) and Zach Baylin (King Richard), from a story by Hall and Alex Tse (co-writer of 2009’s Watchmen), Gran Turismo hits all the beats we’ve come to expect from this type of rise-to-success story. Jann is an underdog in the GT Academy, and even Danny Moore questions whether or not he could lead this brand to success. However, considering this is based on a true story, it’s fairly easy to figure out if Jann is successful in his pursuit or not. Along the way, Gran Turismo’s script is packed with come-from-behind moments, a seemingly unending collection of product placements (did you know Sony has their own MP3 player? You certainly will at the end of Gran Turismo) and a character seemingly saying “this is not a game!” at least once every ten minutes to Jann. Gran Turismo’s script feels as though it’s an attempt to tell this story second, and a reminder that this is an excellent game first.

Neil Blomkamp Just Isn’t the Right Director for This Adaptation
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But the primary problem issue with Gran Turismo comes in its direction from Neill Blomkamp. The District 9, Elysium, and Chappie director has never done straight action in this way, and Gran Turismo shows there’s a good reason why he hasn’t. Blomkamp struggles to shoot the film’s many races in a way that is comprehendible as everything is cut together and spliced up so much that the only way to figure out what is going on is via video game-esque pop-ups that show how Jann is doing in the race. Blomkamp relies on helicopter shots whipping above the track and rapid editing, which minimizes the excitement at every turn. When watching Gran Turismo, it’s hard not to think of far better racing films that have captured the excitement of this sport in a much more succinct way, like 2013’s Rush or 2019’s Ford v. Ferrari. Especially when Gran Turismo goes to Le Mans, it’s nearly impossible to compare James Mangold’s Ford v. Ferrari to this and not see the flaws inherent in the filmmaking.

As a game, Gran Turismo shows the long, arduous journey that it takes to be a racer. As a movie, Gran Turismo unfortunately drags in a similar way. As we watch Jann work through various trials and tribulations, the directing and script don’t do this story any favors, repeating the same ideas over and over, throwing in elements like a half-hearted relationship, and taking far too long to get to the actual racing—which, again, isn’t that compelling to begin with. For Gran Turismo to work, this needs an exciting story that pulls you in, as well as a director who knows how to make these racing scenes exciting, and this film has neither of those things. Over and over again, Gran Turismo directly tells the audience that both the game itself and these races are exciting, yet the filmmaking does little to make this claim accurate.

The Performances in ‘Gran Turismo’ Do the Heavy Lifting
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What does save Gran Turismo are some decent performances, despite the material. Jann and his father’s relationship often gets sidetracked to focus on the races, but Hounsou is doing some lovely work when he gets the chance. And even though he gets stuck in the cliches more than almost anyone, David Harbour’s Jack is a lovable curmudgeon, and some of Gran Turismo’s finest moments are when Jack and Jann simply sit down and discuss their lives and ambitions. Sadly, Madekwe’s Jann is rarely an exciting presence, and that’s even portrayed in the narrative, as Danny Moore questions if Jann will be enough to interest viewers. Madekwe also gets some decent moments later in the movie, when his future in racing is questioned, but he too often feels more like an NPC than a real character.

Gran Turismo is a bold choice for PlayStation Productions to bring to the big screen, yet taking a game without a narrative and injecting that idea with a story gives Blomkamp and co. more of an opportunity to turn this into something all their own. Unfortunately, Gran Turismo becomes a mundane, bland shell of much better racing films. On paper, it already doesn’t seem like it makes sense as a Blomkamp film, and on the screen, he makes even less sense for this project. In the world of racing films, Gran Turismo is merely drafting near the back.

Rating: C

The Big Picture

PlayStation Productions’ adaptation of Gran Turismo falls short due to cliches, poor direction, and an underwhelming story that fails to capture the excitement of the game. Director Neill Blomkamp’s lackluster direction results in incomprehensible racing scenes that lack the excitement seen in other racing films. Despite its flaws, Gran Turismo has some decent performances, particularly from Djimon Hounsou and David Harbour, and some heartfelt moments between characters. However, the protagonist feels more like a non-playable character than a fully realized individual.

Gran Turismo comes to theaters on August 25.