Gran Turismo’s operation is extremely clever: combining the PlayStation brand, direct marketing of the video game and shaping the form of a sports film all around, full of the classic stylistic features of the genre. Debut, success, fall, rise.
It must also be said that, as PlayStation Productions’ second operation in the cinematographic field, the care taken in the project and in the cinematographic frame is certainly more effective. Nothing to say about the previous Uncharted (already reviewed and given a good thumbs up) but Gran Turismo has structure and greater strength behind it in the staging of the story, as well as narrative immersion.
Always good Neill Blomkamp who made himself known with District 9 – an absolutely crazy film – to a cast of actors dedicated to the story, it takes so little to give up Gran Turismo is not only a good product taken from a videogame franchise, but also a true and effective sports film that crosses all the best goals, resulting in an adrenaline-filled and fast-paced pace.
The absolutely true story is that of Jann Mardenborough, a Gran Turismo player who, thanks to the GT Academy established in 2011, managed to move from his room in England to a real cockpit, becoming a full-fledged driver, along a career that still sees him busy today. The production transports the story to the present day and adds meticulous ingredients to fictionalize it to the right degree, from the cynical and exuberant Nissan manager who has the idea of create the GT Academy together with Kazunori Yamauchi, historic creator of the videogame franchiseup to the workshop manager, a classic former driver who failed and who now sees in the young Jann the possibility of taking back his professional and personal “revenge” towards the FIA.
In its two full hours of film, Gran Turismo hits the accelerator without brakes, looking for its own trail to follow, without ever wriggling away from productions that are on average similar, differentiating itself precisely when the video game comes into play. To all intents and purposes this is not a film that wants to tell a story within the video game, but rather relegates the video game to an almost training status, a miserable background, since as soon as you arrive on the track, if you crash into a wall, there is no life bonus or rewind to save and start everything again from the beginning.
Gran Turismo hits the target, full of adrenaline and strong feelings
Dal playing video games as a no longer unhealthy hobby, but also dedicated to the possibility of competitive growth, up to the parents who harass their children by asking them to leave the house and take their eyes off the PlayStation. So better on the track, better these stories of revenge, of families, of dreams and feelings, whether towards one’s own future or that of a girl’s heart.
On the track the film changes face, with sweat on the chin, the helmet too tight and on the radio the team manager screams at the top of his lungs because the 24 Hours of Le Mans it is not completed with a DualSense, but rather by following the trajectory and also trying to cut the curves at the right point.
In this sense, Gran Turismo seeks its way, leaves the trail to try something new, settles on what he does best and still brings home the result. What emerges most, however, is the passion, the love for engines, for racing and, even if always in silence and played by an actor, Yamauchi is there, proud of the creature that he gave birth to.
VOTE 7
Type: sporty
Publisher: Sony
Regia: Neil Blomkamp
Soundtrack: Lorne Balfe
Interpreters: Archie Madekwe, Orlando Bloom, David Harbour, Djimon Hounson
Duration: 134 minutes
