Gran Turismo

I finally got around to watching this true story racing movie directed by Neill Blomkamp. This film came out in August of last year and I wanted to see it in theaters but as they say, life happens, and I got too busy. Happily, I found out that the film is now streaming on Netflix, so I decided to give it a watch. The film stars Archie Madekwe as Jann Mardenborough, a passionate fan of the Gran Turismo video game who is given the chance of a lifetime to fulfill his dream of being a real-life racecar driver. The cast also includes Orlando Bloom, David Harbour and Djimon Hounsou. 

This movie is awesome! The way I felt during the entirety of the movie reminded me of how I felt watching Ron Howard's 2005 boxing movie Cinderella Man. The story sucks you in right away and you find yourself in Mardenborough's corner and on the edge of your seat willing him to succeed. The visual effects are really cool as well, which should not some as a surprise considering Blomkamp's previous works: District 9, Elysium, Chappie. There was a nice comparison between the real-life racing aspect and the "sim" racing that meshed well and made it easy for the viewer to understand and appreciate the difference between the two. 

This movie was very well written and directed and Harbour and Bloom both delivered great performances. Gran Turismo has everything that goes into the making of a great sports movie: a hero with nothing but a dream, a surly but caring coach, a rival/villain, and seemingly impossible odds....not to mention that it is a true story. As I said, I absolutely loved this movie and I hope you get a chance to check it out!

Thanks for reading!