There was once a time when movie adaptations of video games were always guaranteed to be horrible, which I think came from a fundamental misunderstanding and lack of respect for the source material from Hollywood. That is no longer the case, with the likes of “Prince of Persia,” “Sonic the Hedgehog” and arguably “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” breaking the mold. 

“Gran Turismo” also hopes to join this trend of surprisingly decent video game movies, though it takes a very different approach: Instead of making up a story for a racing game that doesn’t have much of one, it adapted the real-life story of racer Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe), who used the game to break into professional auto racing.

“Gran Turismo” prides itself into being a hyper realistic racing simulator (or so the film wants you to believe as it is clearly trying to sell it to us) and Jann has proved himself as being one of the best players in the world. He enters GT Academy, an online competition put on by Nissan marketing executive Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom), and wins a chance to drive real race cars under the guidance of veteran racer Jack Salter (David Harbour). 

Jack’s job is to whittle down the GT Academy winners to one person who will drive in professional competitions, with a chance to earn a racing license and earn a large signing bonus with Nissan. Jack doesn’t respect “Gran Turismo” as a legitimate tool to train drivers, and subsequently subjects the winners to rigorous physical and mental training the majority of them can’t handle. He’s tough but fair; if you’re not mentally or physically tough enough, he will cast you to the side, but he’s willing to fight for talent when he sees it.

Jann finds rivals first in Matty Davis (Darren Barnet), a fellow GT Academy winner, and then Nicholas Capa (Josha Stradowski), a rich snob who bought his way into racing and who is Jack’s former employer. Jann is our main character, so *minor spoilers*, he does come out as Jack’s pick to be Nissan’s driver, after which the film truly begins. 

The movie does a great job of explaining to viewers the subtle craft of racing and some of what goes into it, from how racers have to be aware of safety at all times to the psychological warfare that goes into tricking rival drivers into making mistakes that will allow you to get — and stay — ahead of them. Jann also brings a unique knowledge from his “Gran Turismo” playthroughs that allow him to find more efficient paths to finishing. which allow him to improve as a racer at a rapid rate. 

But it is not without tragedy, as Jann has several wrecks, some with dire consequences. Beyond those, he also has many setbacks, such as when he’s almost sent home when competing for Nissan’s driver spot due to a car malfunction that make his rise nonlinear, which I enjoyed. It made the film unpredictable and made his rise feel earned.

Once he breaks into the professional racing scene, Capa tries to use him as an example as to why “sim” racers should not be allowed on the track. This puts Jann in the difficult position of having to do better than most rookies and veterans in order to prove that “sim” drivers as a concept can work, which I love because it adds stakes you rarely see in these films; Jann is not only driving for himself, but to keep the door open for his peers to enter the field.

There are two major criticisms that I see in other reviews for this film: it is not accurate to its true story and the movie is an hourslong ad. They are correct, but they are concepts you buy into when you watch this film, as it is both a biopic — in which dramatization and altering historic events in order to service the story are par for the course — and an officially-endorsed movie adaptation of a video game (it’s made partially with the goal of selling more “Grand Turismo” games). Viewers and critics should have no reasonable expectation that this film would behave otherwise.

“Gran Turismo” is an excellent film thanks to its strong underdog story inspired by real events, which allow it to sidestep the usual narrative somersaults video game movies fall victim to. Jann’s journey as a young, hungry but naïve rookie racer under the tutelage of veteran teacher Jack is an inspiring one that will suck even non-racing fans in.

“Gran Turismo” gets a 9/10