Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story

Gran Turismo is perhaps a more basic film for Blomkamp, but a welcome reminder that his breakthrough first feature District 9 wasn’t a fluke.

Credit the visuals and pacing to Blomkamp’s savvy, cinematographer Jacques Jouffret’s keen eye, editors Austyn Daines and Colby Parker Jr.’s precision cuts and dazzling driving stunts by the real Jann himself.

All of the racing is either over much too quickly, showcases no sense of drama or pace, or is completely devoid of anything approaching viscerally kinetic energy.

Gran Turismo is satisfyingly simple, its ensemble an embodiment of well-worn tropes: the underdog, the jaded coach, the parents who struggle to accept their wunderkind son’s dreams.

Finally, an Underdog Sports Movie where the doggedly determined heroes include a couple of huge international commercial brands. Forget about Rocky and the Karate Kid, we have PlayStation and Nissan in our corner!

Solidly assembled but less stirring than it should be -- in part because it takes too many laps -- the film moves, ironically, too slow to deliver as a big-screen attraction but might fare better with its eventual pitstops on at-home platforms.

Even though Gran Turismo struggles with sticking to its strengths and maintaining efficient pacing, it still does an adequate job of championing a modern globe-trotting underdog tale.

It’s an advertisement for a video game that actively seeks to separate failure (gaming) from success (not gaming). Jann’s steadfast refusal to not be “just a gamer” becomes such a rallying cry that it feels unintentionally insulting.

I enjoyed the inspirational guidance of Jack Salter (David Harbour), as he guided the young, inexperienced driver to trust his instincts and believe in himself.

I enjoyed the rapport between Madekwe + Harbour as underdogs in elite racing. The racing scenes are well-staged and use CGI in an effective way to showcase the video game elements.