{"id":26915,"date":"2023-08-24T13:04:59","date_gmt":"2023-08-24T20:04:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=26915"},"modified":"2023-08-24T13:04:59","modified_gmt":"2023-08-24T20:04:59","slug":"gran-turismo-doesnt-reach-the-winners-podium-but-makes-a-respectable-showing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=26915","title":{"rendered":"‘t Reach the Winner\u2019s Podium, But Makes a Respectable Showing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Running Time: 134 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This film from Sony Pictures opens exclusively at cinemas\non August 25th.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While most video game-to-film adaptations feature monsters\nor otherworldly creatures from fantastic worlds, the new feature Gran\nTurismo<\/em> actually has some basis in reality. It\u2019s a biopic of Jann\nMardenborough, a teenage gamer who won the opportunity to race professionally.\nYes, at times the movie does feel like a commercial for Sony\u2019s hit product. It\nis also exaggerated and definitely struggles to squeeze in a lot of extraneous\nstory material. However, the racing sequences are handled with creativity and\nare exciting to witness. And despite its flaws, it is better than many game\nadaptations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The feature gives some background information about the\nracing simulation franchise before introducing marketing executive Danny Moore\n(Orlando Bloom). He successfully convinces Nissan to fund a professional\ndriving academy made of Gran Turismo<\/em> players. After acquiring the\nservices of ex-driver and skeptical trainer Jack Salter (David Harbour), young\nJann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe) enters the picture. Obsessed with game to\nthe chagrin of his parents (Djimon Hounsou and Geri Halliwell), he finds his\nway into the academy. He gets grilled by Salter and fights to survive the\ncompetition. After improving, he is faced with numerous challenges in order to\ngo pro and prove to the world that gamers can become real racers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As mentioned, there is an awful lot of material that is\nstuffed into the feature. Besides spending time introducing the creation of the\nacademy, as well as Mardenborough\u2019s driving skills and conflict with his family\nmembers, it also introduces love interest Audrey (Maeve Courtier-Lilley),\nnumerous competitors at the academy, as well as nasty rivals on the\nprofessional circuit and a movement to shut down the entire program. There are\nmany important races (first, to win at the academy and compete with pros, then\nto obtain an official license, and finally to land on the podium), questions\nabout the protagonist\u2019s marketability with the public, as well as a tragic\nmishap that leads to self-doubt on the track. Seemingly every ten minutes, a\nnew hiccup arrives to complicate matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, conflict is always important to keep audiences\ninvested, but there is so much in this screenplay that it forces the makers to\ndeal with several of these issues very, very quickly. As a result, some of the\nmost interesting challenges, including Mardenborough\u2019s lack of confidence after\na race in Germany, don\u2019t get the necessary screentime to make a strong imprint.\nMost are dealt with in a surface-level manner, where a brief conversation or\ninspirational speech often fully resolves the problem. As such, when the movie\nattempts big impassioned and moving emotional moments, it frequently falters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At least Madekwe is charming and likable in the lead role,\nkeeping viewers watching when the story presents another clich\u00e9d element. And\nHarbour adds plenty of gravitas as Salter, who comes across as amusingly mean\nto his pupils before slowly warming up to Mardenborough. This character is in\nthe majority of the film with the lead and as such he feels more developed than\nall of the other co-stars. Watching their relationship grow from initial\nantagonism into a deeper friendship is the most effective and entertaining part\nof the movie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The film also includes impressive driving footage. Director\nNeill Blomkamp (District 9, Elysium<\/em>) does a lot to jazz up the races.\nThe camera bolts around the track, frequently cutting to engine parts and gears\nin motion, while it follows the drivers with intensity. There are plenty of\nunique shots throughout that do make the races dynamic. This includes\nsuperimposing potential driving paths on the screen and even using digital\neffects to transform Mardenborough from his car back into his bedroom gaming\narea when he is attempting to calm his nerves (there is also a series of funny\ngags involving the driver\u2019s preferred music while prepping for a race).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of the references to the game franchise comes across as\nawkward, and the constant need to introduce more and more challenges to the\nprotagonist causes an overcrammed narrative that doesn\u2019t stir the soul.\nHowever, there are some fun moments and dizzying driving sequences that will\nlikely entertain fans of the game. In the end, Gran Turismo<\/em> doesn\u2019t\nquite reach the winner\u2019s podium, but it does at least make a respectable\nshowing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Running Time: 134 minutes This film from Sony Pictures opens exclusively at cinemas on August 25th. While most video game-to-film adaptations feature monsters or otherworldly creatures from fantastic worlds, the new feature Gran Turismo actually has some basis in reality. It\u2019s a biopic of Jann Mardenborough, a teenage gamer who won the opportunity to race […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":26920,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[213,1765,5304,5959,8217,8568,8569,8570,8571,12904,15487,16184,16577,18704,18709,23775],"class_list":["post-26915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-213","tag-archie-madekwe","tag-david-harbour","tag-djimon-hounsou","tag-geri-halliwell","tag-gran-turismo","tag-gran-turismo-film-review","tag-gran-turismo-movie-review","tag-gran-turismo-review","tag-maeve-courtier-lilley","tag-orlando-bloom","tag-playstation","tag-racing","tag-sony","tag-sony-pictures","tag-video-game-adaptation"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26915\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}