Gran Turismo is a motivational film that’s better than you think

“Why would he (our 12-year old son) want to see Gran Turismo?”, mused my wife. I snickered just a little bit too because I too had momentarily interchanged Gran Torino with Gran Turismo. To make matters even more challenging for the marketing of the film, Gran Turismo is a movie based on the real-life story of , who was good at playing Gran Tourismo, the video game, and then became a real-life race car driver. I’ve seen this movie before, Rock Star, with Mark Wahlberg and Jennifer Anniston, you older movie fans might be thinking to yourself. But, before you dismiss Gran Tourismo as something that you’ve seen before, here this, it’s actually quite refreshing and has more in common with Rocky, than the cheesy gamer film you’ve imagined.

Things could’ve been very different for Gran Turismo. The film is very quick to realize what its most annoying attributes are and pays as little time to them as possible. If only every movie could be as self-aware as this one. The annoying elephant in the room in the case of Gran Tourismo is someone playing video games so well that they then can make a living off of it. Outside of Twitch streams and college-age youth, very few people want to watch someone play a video game. However, the underdog, working-class family, with a dad who was almost a professional soccer player, who has a son that’s one of the best in the world at a video game?

Jann Mardenborough is the young adult high school in question who spends too much time playing Gran Turismo. His parents are all over his case about him wasting his life and seemingly comparing him to his sibling who has it all together. Jann catches word that PlayStation has launched a worldwide competition to find the best racers on the planet to compete in the video game that we’ve referenced over a dozen times already. He narrowly beats some other youth who spends too much time playing video games and has earned the right to compete against the best other basement dwellers IRL in a real car.

About halfway through the film I was researching to see if this was really based on a true story. Once my reality was satiated that the film I was watching was honest in its based-on-a-true-story claim, I was able to relax again and enjoy the movie. Gran Turismo sneaks up on you in the best of all possible ways. You don’t expect to enjoy the film, but you do. You don’t expect to become emotionally invested in any character, but you find yourself caring about all of them.

Gran Turismo mocks the very reason it exists, and audiences are the better for it. When executives from Nissan approach trainers for potential drivers they’re laughed at and given the same video game one-liners that every parent has uttered. As the drivers are going through racing school the trainers treat them with the same dubious apprehension as parent’s awaiting a joke that they’ve heard too many times.

The reason Gran Turismo succeeds is because of its pacing and forthright attitude. Had the film ignored the ridiculous premise of gamers going on to compete in real-life racing it would’ve been realistic. Instead, the film shows the working-class root of Jann’s family, the struggles, failures and the hard truth that a living has to be made. As Jann makes it to the big leagues he’s still tested, this time by the establishment’s other drivers and support staff who don’t trust someone who has never done the sport, but now finds him on the main stage.

It’s also great to see David Harbour act in a character that’s not as dour as the one he portrays on Stranger Things. He plays Jack Salter, the racing trainer who finally agrees to train Jann. Archie Madekwe is Jann, who also does a fabulous job as the gamer who grows into a new league. Gran Turismo is just so likable. The special effects are a little rough on the car crash sequences, but it’s not enough to take away from the enjoyment of the film. It’s also not a film that will change your paradigm. It’s simply a very good film, with a solid core that will entertain families, as well as, middle school audiences and up. Those younger ages will dig the thought of a gamer making themselves legitimate, and then trying to convince parents that all of those hours on Fortnite could actually produce something. It’s at that point that you’ll say that there is no Fortnite in the real world, but the closest thing to it is being an architect or joining the Army, and they’re welcome to do both.

Gran Turismo is rated PG-13 for action sequences and mild language.