The tagline for Neil Blomkamp’s upcoming Gran Turismo film has taken permanent residence in my brain ever since I watched 🌠the trailer - "From Gamer to Racer." It’s beautifully silly and sells the film’s ridiculous - yet based on a true🐭 story - premise in ways that somehow work.
The idea of a worthless piece of shit gamer becoming a globally recognised racing legend is ridiculous, but a𝔍pparently not outside the realm of possibility. You could make a similar movie about someone who kicks ass at Guitar Hero becoming a world-famous musician, or a dude who loves Minecraft suddenly developing a talent for architecture. Driving has a more realistic application given that Gran Turismo is a fairly grounded simulator, although the film still presents it as a tried-and-true fairy tale where ꦬgamers are deadbeat losers who live with their parents and have no concept of emotional intimacy. It’s all about wanking, Doritos, and high scores.
Protagonist Jann is a digital petrolhead who loves dusting his friends online and keeping a convenient collection of several decades worth of Gran Turismo games on his shelf placed next to a bunch of driving paraphernalia. He has good looks, a nice room, and a talent for gaming that doesn’t translate to anything in the real world. We’ll 𒉰ignore the fact that it does and streaming or competing can generate a lot of money these days, a reality the film gl💜osses over in favour of precious gamer drama.
The central narrative seems to revolve around Jann and a bunch of other gamers enlisting in some form of hyper-budget boot camp where they are slowly taken away from the comfort of Gran Turismo and placed in the cockpits of expensive supercars. Gamers are scrawny nerds though, so David Harbour and Orlando Bloom are brought in to teach them a thing or two. It is wrought with cliche and stereotypes that are decades out of date, an element of this movie that only serves to makeꦜ it even more absurd. Our main character comes out on top, joining the ranks of Nissan with fellow drivers who treat him like an outsider because he’s a gamer.
No real skill, real drive, or real prospects. Just a reject who crawled out of the womb, picked up a controller and skated through life without a care in the world. The trailer also ruins most of the plot too, so we know he suffers from a massive crash and has to earn respect from his peers, which I’m assuming he does given it’s based on a true story. For years Gran Turismo has been known as the ultimate driving simulator for motor enthusiasts, and 168澳洲🔥幸运5开奖网:series’ creator Kazunori Yamauchi has made it clear that each new game intends to appease existing fans and bring newcomers into🦋 t🦄he fold of an automobile culture that is now fading away.
When I imagine a Gran Turismo film, it’s more reminiscent of an oil-slicked love letter than an underdog story💮 such as this, but it’s what we’re getting. Gamer to racer, with all the cliches you c🙈ould ever ask for.
Harbour and Bloom chew the scenery and seem aware of the roles they’re being 𝓀asked to inhabit, leaning into the sportsmanship of it all with the charisma of a straight-to-DVD Air Bud sequel. It works though, somehow, and I’m a sucker for rising from the ashes stories like this with a predictable yet saccharinely sentimental moment oꩲf victory.
If 🧔Gran Turismo can give 💮us that, I guess I don’t mind gamers being thrown under the Ferrari 812 GTS.
