This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labour of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn't exist.

The PlayStation exclusive Gran Turismo series of games are lauded for their accurate simulation of driving cars on some of the world's most iconic race tracks, but also for how they celebrate and champion racing. On the surface, that's achieved through the meticulous graphical detail of the cars and tracks featured in each game, but, as seen in the latest title Gran Turismo 7, the series embeds it into the entire experience. An opening cinematic pays homage to the history of racing, highlighting the engineering and talented drivers that pushed motorsports forward throughout the decades. Players are forced to go through extensive tutorials and learn about sportsmanship before they can even play the game in full. Dedicated players who meet eye-to-eye with Gran Turismo's earnest appreciation of cars and racing are treated with zen-like moments on the race track when they nail a corner or snag a new personal best.

There's a scene late in the film that perfectly captures what Gran Turismo is all about. Our lead characters are cruising in a car on the iconic Nurburgring track. It's golden hour, the car glides on the asphalt, and David Harbour's cantankerous mentor cracks a smile. The games make a point about motorsport being more than just winning races, and this beautifully evokes that statement. It's just a shame that this scene only lasts half a minute and is the only time it truly feels like Gran Turismo.

A man looks out through a windshield from inside of a car. — Sony Pictures UK

To be fair, Gran Turismo, directed by Neill Blomkamp, isn't an adaptation of the game but of a true story about the game – particularly the story of Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe), a working-class Gran Turismo player who became a professional race driver thanks to the GT Academy that turned top players into top racers. There's some nifty references to the game series through camerawork and slick overlays taken directly from the games, and on paper the narrative is a compelling one, but unfortunately the film is a bit of a car crash.

Foregoing the grandeur of the games, Gran Turismo is a by-the-books underdog story evocative of a 00's sports film. Through extremely expositional dialogue and wooden scenes, we learn of Jann's passion for the game and rocky relationship with his family, Nissan marketing exec Danny Moore's (Orlando Bloom) successful pitch to kickstarting the GT Academy, and racer-turned-mechanic Jack Slater (David Harbour) reluctantly accepting Moore's offer to lead the academy. The film kicks into gear when Jann enters the academy and we get some humorous training montages. It's all a bit predictable from there, which would have been fine if the editing and dialogue weren't so frustrating.

Two white Nissan race cars zooming round the corner of a race track. — Sony Pictures UK

Whether it's a scene of two characters talking or a racing set piece, there are glaring continuity issues and cuts that cause confusion in what is happening on screen. Worse though is the overall narrative that cuts out crucial arcs and characters, and covers a myriad of topics at surface level at best; Jann's father (an underutilised Djimon Hounsou) is completely absent for the entire second act and briefly appears towards the end for an unearned conclusion. These underdog sport movies are reliant on convincing emotions and characters, but Gran Turismo is lacking in both areas.

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Thankfully Harbour makes the bumpy ride a bit more bearable. He's clearly having a tonne of fun as the grouchy mentor who is convinced that the GT Academy participants can't handle the realities and dangers of actual motorsports. What little nuances there are with the writing of the character, Harbour somehow manages to pull them to the surface and acts as the conduit for the audience to cheer on Jann in the climatic final race.

It's difficult to enjoy what should have been an easy win when there are fundamental filmmaking issues (the action in the races are constantly paused to inform the audience of what lap Jann is on – even when a character has just spoken that information to us or even when the information is actually already visually on screen). Bar some editing issues, the races aren't bad – but they're not great either, particularly after releases such as Le Mans '66 and Top Gun Maverick. Gran Turismo needed more time in the garage before it was taken on to the race track.