In 2009, Niell Blomkamp directed the sci-fi film District 9. With rave reviews and critical recognition, including a Best Picture nomination from the Academy, Blomkamp seemed to be the next big name in science fiction. However, this prediction never came to fruition. For one reason or another, the South African filmmaker never found the apex that so many thought he would reach. Since District, Blomkamp has made films that, while commercially successful, have fallen by the wayside in the public's minds. Now, Blomkamp is back with his latest piece, Gran Turismo. Is Neill back on track, or did he totally crash and burn? 

Gran Turismo isn't a typical video game movie like Uncharted or Mortal Kombat, but it's based on a true story that features the titular Playstation game. Jann Mardenbrough, played by Archie Madekwe, was an avid Gran Turismo player and was invited to the GT Academy for the chance to become a professional racer, along with other gamers worldwide. However, this film acts as though he competed in the first-ever version of this experiment, which is factually incorrect, but I'll let it slide for suspension of disbelief's sake. It makes for a better story, anyway. Once the competition ends, it's no surprise that Jann is the winner and now has an opportunity to become a professional driver for Nissan. 

After the competition, which was undoubtedly one of the better parts of the film, the rest of the movie shows the trials and tribulations that come with going from gamer to racer, including one of the most jaw-dropping moments in cinema this year. At the Nürburgring racetrack, Jann crashes and accidentally kills a spectator. Personally, I could not believe they used this real tragedy as a plot device. It seems a bit inappropriate to use an actual fatality to bring our protagonist down a valley before the predictable trope of overcoming the odds at the end of the film. They even make his coach, portrayed by David Harbour, resonate with this and admit to a similar incident when he used to race! I understand that this must have been a traumatic part of Jann's life, but why include all of this? For more than usual sympathy? It was obvious there would be a fall from grace in the second act; that's just how these types of movies work. But when you have to use the loss of someone to bring our main character back down to Earth, it's nothing less than jarring. 

If you've seen any of these "zero to hero" flicks, you know exactly how this movie ends. Jann gets over the killing, locks in for his next race, and finishes third (along with two previous gamers from the GT Academy.) When reviewing this film, the overall predictability isn't what should be taken into account. It's painfully obvious what kind of movie this is from the trailer alone, so everything inside of this movie needs to be analyzed to see if it has something unique or special about it that separates it from other stereotypical underdog movies: Is the cinematography bold, are there standout performances, and are the characters written interestingly enough for you to care about them?

Unfortunately, the answer to all of these questions is a resounding no. Everything about Gran Turismo is absurdly average. Orlando Bloom, who plays the genius businessman who made this idea into a reality, just phones it in and plays a stereotypical executive who only cares about money and ratings. David Harbour does well, but the mediocre script weighs him down. Archie Madekwe's performance is fine, but the whole issue with the film is that it takes no risk. The only boldness present in the movie only stirred controversy among the audience. Although Blomkamp was in the director's chair, it's hard to put all the blame on him. In 2011, Sony tried to make a Gran Turismo film, but this project was left in limbo for seven years until it got canned, having gone through multiple scripts and even a previous director. This was nothing short of a sign that, maybe, this just wasn't going to work out. 

Since this is from the opinion of one measly writer, let's look at what others thought about this film. Rotten Tomatoes has this at 63%, but it also has an audience score of 98%. IMDB has it at 7.4, while Metacritic scored it at 47. Letterboxd, a site where film lovers go to rate and review films they've seen, has it rated at 3.4 stars out of 5. With the reviews being mostly positive or mixed, it seems that audiences are willing to take off their thinking caps and embrace the underdog story. At the time of this being written, Gran Turismo has made $56.8 million worldwide at the box office, with about $37 million coming internationally, which isn't much of a surprise considering the game's massive appeal overseas. However, this is slightly below the $60 million budget, but there's still time for it to make its money back.

If all you're looking for is a decent night out at the movies, Gran Turismo is a solid pick. Everything about it is simple and harmless. It's cathartic just to shut off the brain and enjoy some easy-going fun for about two hours. Obviously, this isn't going to change lives and move people in ways they've never been moved, but not everything has to do so. And if it did move you, that's great! It was just hard for me, personally, to value this more than just a good excuse to eat popcorn for a couple of hours. Out of the twenty-five movies I've seen so far that have been released this year, this lands at twenty-second. But don't take my word as gospel; you should go see what you think of it yourself! Hopefully, it'll be a great time because, ultimately, that's what movies are all about. 

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