Car movies tend to be a bit rubbish.
Sure, there are exceptions – Le Mans, Rush, Senna – but for the most part, they’re more focused on seeing how much damage can be wrought by using cars as four-wheeled wrecking balls.
That’s why the car chases that are widely recognised as being the best aren’t from car movies, they’re from movies that happen to feature a car chase. Need proof? Watch Ronin.
Don’t get us started on video game movies, either. Uncharted was a mess, Tomb Raider is hit-and-miss, and the less said about Need for Speed the better.
You can understand why the CarExpert team was a bit nervous about Gran Turismo, then.
It’s based on the true story of Jann Mardenborough, a British gamer who worked his way into a Nissan race seat through a process that started in the Gran Turismo video game.
Starting in his bedroom, Jann works his way through the GT Academy into a GT3 car and, eventually, an LMP2 racer.
So, why should you go and see it? Because if you can cut through a heavy dose of promotion, it’s actually good fun.
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The CarExpert team at Gran Turismo
For starters, the racing scenes are beautifully shot. Rather than looking like slow, glossy, stage-managed sequences, the parts of the movie that take place on track are properly engaging – with a few game-inspired racing lines thrown in for good measure.
There’s more to it than action sequences, though. The story – most of which is lifted from reality, albeit with some time shifting to suit the silver screen – that flows through the film should keep regular punters on board, even if scenes involving Jann’s love interest and parents feel like they’ve been brutally compressed at times to make room for racing.
Complaints? Well, the film falls into a few lazy car movie traps… like drivers downshifting to overtake at full speed down the Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans. It’s one of a few disappointing dips into Fast & Furious tropes that’ll no doubt catch enthusiasts’ eyes – even if regular viewers are unlikely to notice.
It’s also all a bit easy at times. Movie Jann moves fast from the road going GT-R into a GT3 car, and from there into a Le Mans prototype, which undermines just how much work real-world Jann put in to get himself up to speed.
Those flaws aren’t fatal, though. Car movies are rare, and enjoyable ones are even rarer.
Look past the healthy serving of marketing and movie magic, and there’s a good racing movie hidden within Gran Turismo.
