Gran Turismo [2023] – David Harbour, Orlando Bloom, Archie Madekwe

Gran Turismo is a surprisingly good movie that is pulled down by the blatant product placement and forced ads from Sony.

Starring David Harbour and Archie Madekwe, the movie is based on a true story where Nissan used the Gran Turismo players in a marketing campaign and turned them into professional racers.

I saw the trailer in the movie theaters, and frankly, it didn’t sell me. That’s why I waited for the movie to be available on streaming.

Going into it with extremely low expectations, I assumed that the movie was just another push by Sony and PlayStation to sell more games. I was right. I was also wrong. The movie is full of brisk action and gamified racing scenes wrapped by a feel-good underdog drama. It’s a solid racing movie on its own. Yes, it’s a very very slow start, but once you get over the first 15 minutes, it’s a race to the finish line.

However, the chief joy derived from this movie is the result of its two main stars. Aside from the delightful performance by Madekwe, and the tight racing sequences, I was excited every time David Harbour was on screen. You can see how committed he was. My favorite part of the movie was watching Harbour tear through all the gruff-but-lovable coaching cliches and find the battered, vulnerable heart within.

Should You Watch It?

It’s got a lot of a heart and is generally engaging throughout. It’s 2h15 long movie with an extemely slow start. However, if you can get over that, it’s a racing gamer dream come true.

Where Can I Watch It?

You can stream Gran Turismo on Crave in Canada.