Going in Circles
And here we thought ‘Transformers’ and ‘Barbie’ were purpose-built to move product…
Gran Turismo
Director: Neill Blomkamp • Writers: Jason Hall, Zach Baylin, Alex Tse
Starring: Archie Madekwe, David Harbour, Orlando Bloom, Djimon Hounsou, Darren Barnet, Josha Stradowski
USA / Japan • 2hrs 15mins
Opens Hong Kong August 10 • IIA
Grade: C
One of the more impressive feats of Neill Blomkamp’s Gran Turismo is its complete and total devotion to corporate synergy. Produced by Columbia Pictures and PlayStation Productions, and distributed by parent Sony (duh), Gran Turismo has more logos per square screen inch than any film in recent memory (the logomania is also part and parcel of the racing industry). Seriously, the production crew has gone above and beyond in packaging what is a de facto two-hour ad to make it look like the Heineken star is crucial to the narrative. Mad respect. And kudos for the honesty, I guess.
Based on the not-a-game video game (it’s a racing simulator) by Kazunori Yamauchi and Polyphony Digital and PlayStation – as is pointed out again and again and again in the film – Gran Turismo tries to have it both ways by pimping for the game series as well as functioning as a biopic of actual pro driver Jann Mardenborough (the very nearly charisma-free Archie Madekwe, See, Midsommar), who made his name by winning the Nissan-created marketing campaign 2008-2016 competition based on the, erm, game, and going on to a respectable racing career. Though one that doesn’t appear to resemble this film at all. But whatever, the magic of the movies and all that. In fairness, Gran Turismo also does its level best to make the film feel like the simulator, but it has to. How else is it going to sell games?
Only two logos?
We start with Jann at home, collecting a package for race gear he purchased by saving his meagre retail salary. His mom Lesley and former footballer dad Steve (Geri “Ginger Spice” Horner and Djimon Hounsou) have vaguely outlined, conflicting views of Jann’s racing obsession. She’s sorta kinda okay with it, he’s baffled, thinks it’s a useless hobby (ha!) and that Jann should come play football with him and his brother, Cai (Daniel Puig), who’s about to go pro. But Jann proves them all wrong when, first, he wins a place at GT Academy, a sales gimmick hatched by Nissan ad exec Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom, playing essentially the Matt Damon character in both James Mangold’s Ford v Ferrari and Ben Affleck’s Air), and then by getting real race training from retired driver Jack Salter (David Harbour) that puts him on real tracks at Dubai and Le Mans. Salter is the kind of, ahem, salty veteran that’s unimpressed until he isn’t; a stern master with a heart of gold. You can tell he’s a maverick becuase in the 2000s he still uses a Sony (!) Walkman until Jann gifts him a Sony (!!) MP3 player. There’s a cocky American rival then teammate, Matty Davis (Darren Barnet), and of course a nemesis in the form of elitist Team Capa star Nicholas and his bossy dad (Josha Stradowski and Thomas Kretschmann). Will Jann win his father’s approval? Will he get the girl? Will he rise like a phoenix from the ashes after a trauma? Will he win the hardest race in the world on his first go? Is the Pope Catholic?
It’s hard to put into words just how bland Gran Turismo is. It’s well enough made, it’s inoffensive, and it often feels like a race; those who’ve played the game should get a kick out of the film, and more power to them. But as a film it falls flat. It’s unfair – but hard not – to compare it to better racing movies, like Ford v Ferrari or Ron Howard’s Rush, simply because both are more inherently dramatic than Gran Turismo, and both are more willing to dive into the class politicking and rich guy machismo that can happen in high level racing. No offence to the real Jann, but this Jann isn’t that compelling a character. He’s a working class kid with good reflexes, he’s awkward around girls, and he butts head with his dad. And? Things could have been juiced had Bloom’s skeevy salesman had more to do – and had the script interrogated the unholy alliance with Wall Street racing relies on at all – and Harbour’s wise mentor been given more than Obi-Wan/Gandalf-y wisdom to spout about Jann getting back on the horse after a defining crash (this is not a spoiler; there’s always a defining crash).
What’s more upsetting about Gran Turismo is that, after he came flying out of the gate with District 9, it’s more of the downhill trajectory Blomkamp’s been on ever since. It’s no Chappie, but what’s on display here doesn’t come close to tapping the magical elixir of social commentar, engaging action and straight-up creativity of that first film, and he certainly doesn’t try and add anything to this. Is Blomkamp turning into a competent but unremarkable gun for hire? Maybe. But it’s hard to say if what little flair there is in Gran Turismo can be laid at Blomkamp’s feet, or Yamauchi’s. We know what Yamauchi would say. — DEK
*Gran Turismo was reviewed during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labour of the writers and actors currently on strike, it wouldn't exist.