From the Gamer’s Seat to the Driver’s Seat

Archie Madekwe in "Gran Turismo"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

The filmmaking career of Neill Blomkamp has been a strange one, to say the least.  After his feature-filmmaking debut in 2009 for his stunning sci-fi action film, “District 9,” it seemed like cinema had an exciting new visionary when it came to the genre.  He stuck with the genre for his follow-up in 2013 with “Elysium.”  Although the premise showed a lot of promise, it presented an underwhelming sophomore effort.  In 2015, he gave us “Chappie,” which again, looked like it had potential, but was even more of a disappointment than “Elysium.”  He then ventured into supernatural sci-fi with his negatively reviewed very-low-budget film, “Demonic,” which I haven’t seen.  Fourteen years after his first feature, we’ve been waiting for another movie that displays the filmmaking talent that Blomkamp showed in “District 9.”

For his latest film, he takes a break from sci-fi and goes into something different.  Now, he ventures into sports cinema for his biographical film, “Gran Turismo.”  While not quite the full comeback we’d like from Blomkamp, it still presents a step in the right direction for his career.

In 2011, as part of a marketing promotion, Nissan invites skilled gamers in the “Gran Turismo” racing simulation to take part in a contest to win a spot in the GT Academy, which will train the winning contestants to be race-car drivers, and one of them to be chosen to begin a career in the sport to represent Nissan.  When Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe) earns a spot in the academy and then wins the coveted chance to race for Nissan, he’ll brave the dangers of the sport in order to realize his dream.

Madekwe delivers a great feature breakout performance as a young man who’s determined to take his aspirations to the highest level, displaying the courage that it takes to go for such an accomplishment.  Madekwe shows the physical, and later on, the psychological toll that this has on his character, giving Jann some emotional moments that engage the viewer.  Despite the familiarity of this type of story, Madekwe remains committed to his role and keeps you invested in his character’s journey as he faces challenge after challenge in the academy, and soon in a professional sport where others don’t see him as anything more than a gamer.  He elevates the material that he’s given and provides work that offers enough drama to make up for the story’s shortcomings.

As for the supporting performances, David Harbour has good chemistry with Madekwe, portraying Jann’s trainer, Jack Salter.  His character arc follows the mentor-to-the-underdog archetype without any surprises, but just like Madekwe, he does the best job that he can within the limits of the screenplay to present someone who demands the best from his student.  Meanwhile, Djimon Hounsou has a few memorable scenes as Jann’s father, Steve, who can’t seem to understand his son’s obsession with racing and only wants what’s best for him.

The screenplay by Jason Hall and Zach Baylin, who’ve dabbled in biographical screenplays with “American Sniper” and “King Richard,” respectively, follows your typical underdog-story template, exhibiting the beats and dialogue that one would expect from such a movie.  There’s an over-familiarity from a storytelling perspective, but it makes up for that by giving us enough time in the three portions of the film where we learn about Jan and his home life, his time at the academy, and his time as a professional racer.  And, throughout the academy portion and afterwards, the narrative builds a connection between Jann and Jack that makes you care about them, despite the clichéd story. 

As a director, Blomkamp breaks out of his sci-fi comfort zone quite nicely when he gives us the racing sequences.  Whether it be during the academy section of the film or what comes after with Jann as a professional driver, editors Colby Parker Jr. and Austyn Daines (the latter of whom edited Blomkamp’s “Demonic”) and cinematographer Jacques Jouffret bring an energy to the races that’ll help the film appeal to fans and non-fans of the video game.  Thanks to the thrilling views from both inside and outside of the cars, we experience the intensity of the races as Jann ventures further and further into his profession as a driver.

With this film, we see that maybe what Blomkamp needed for his career was to take a break from the sci-fi genre and try something new.  It’s still going take more for Blomkamp to really wow us again, but if “Gran Turismo” is any proof, his comeback looks like it’s on the right track.

Grade: B