Eyebrows were raised when PlayStation Productions announced the Gran Turismo movie. This venerable game series is famed for its technical attention to detail, a dizzying array of cars, and stunning audiovisual presentation, but isn’t exactly known for gripping storytelling.
Now the full trailer is here, showing off its sports drama story about a Gran Turismo-addicted gamer transcending the consoles to become a real race car driver. The idea of an expert online racer being recognized for their talents and making it into a real-life sport sounds ludicrous, but the trailer insists it’s based on a true story.
Director Neill Blomkamp has revealed his inspiration was Jann Mardenborough, who indeed followed this course of learning to drive competitively in the virtual world before transferring that to an actual racecourse. Then again, the fact that characters in the trailer repeatedly insist the core idea is completely ridiculous perhaps doesn’t bode well for the final product.
But let’s stay optimistic. Sure, this looks like a typical sports movie in the Rocky model of an unlikely working-class competitor getting their shot at the big time and proving they’ve got what it takes to go the distance, but Blomkamp has a great action pedigree, and the car racing sequences at least look like some kinetic and explosive fun.
The proof, as always, will be in the pudding. Gran Turismo hits theaters on Aug. 11, 2023, and with The Super Mario Bros. Movie recently joining the billion-dollar club at the box office, there’s now big money in video game adaptations. Here’s hoping this bizarre concept has what it takes.
