Last year we learned that Neil Blomkamp was making a Gran Turismo movie (opens in new tab), interestingly, was billed as a movie about video games, not a movie about video games. Now the first official teaser is here. I can say that with confidence. This is definitely a movie about video games.
Gran Turismo tells a (admittedly highly fictionalized) story Jan Mardenborough (opens in new tab)won the top spot in 2011 at GT Academy, a reality television partnership between Sony and Nissan that ran from 2008-2016. As that year’s winner, he was given the opportunity to drive for Nissan at the 24 Hours of Dubai. He finished in his 3rd place in class which ultimately led him to his career in real life racing, which continues to this day.
Gran Turismo’s teaser has everything you’d expect from a ‘weak do good’ story: a kid with a dream that never dies, a locked-room operator who thinks he can make money, and sticks to the old ways. A grizzled coach and, of course, an elite, privileged, and very pretty villain determined to destroy it all just because he can.
In fact it all looks very similar.
wait a minute!
new hero
grizzled coach
wiley manager
greasy villain
Yes, Gran Turismo days of thunder—I’m still not quite sure who Michael Rooker’s character is, but there’s even a line in there that says “Ravin’ is a race.” It’s mixed with a healthy dose of The Last Starfighter, another video game wish-fulfilling fantasy flick.
Remember The Last Starfighter?
Opinion about the Gran Turismo teaser here at PC Gamer is what review aggregator sites like Metacritic call “mixed.”Staff his writer Morgan Park said it “looks pretty okay” and hardware his writer Jorge Jimenez is absolutely fine. enthusiasticand I think it’s the equivalent of a movie when two racers end up in a foot race on a drag track because they stall their bikes when the lights go down.
Anyway, you’ve seen it. Gran Turismo is set to hit the big screen in August.