By James Murphy
Film and TV adaptations of video games have a chequered history; for every The Last of Us, there’s a dozen Street Fighter or Assassin’s Creed flops. Gran Turismo, though, is a little different. Like documentary The King of Kong, it is an examination of the social impact of gaming which draws on the real life, Rocky Balboa story of how 19-year-old Jann Mardenborough went from racing in his bedroom, to competing in Le Mans. Whether audiences place GT in pole position or at the end of the pack depends largely on attitudes to a controversial depiction of a real-life tragedy.
While the chassis of Jann Mardenborough’s story is accurately depicted, artistic liberties are taken which mean that under the hood, the film depiction is a different vehicle to the vintage tale. Jann did win a video game competition, did become a pro-racer, was involved in a fatal accident in a race in Germany, but did overcome the trauma of this to forge a successful career. Although he was the youngest ever graduate of Nissan’s GT Academy, he wasn’t the first, a ground breaker, as depicted in the series. Darren Cox’s idea for the academy, as pitched by Orlando Bloom’s Danny Moore (who is based on Cox), wasn’t quite as far-fetched as is depicted; important preliminary steps were neglected. Jann’s mentor, the Mickey to his Rocky, played by the always fantastic David Harbour, is a fictitious creation whose back story is just too convenient. The most controversial component, though, was the insertion of Jann’s fatal crash at the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
When promoting the film, Jann, who worked as a producer and stunt driver, stated that the fatal crash that killed a spectator and injured others was an essential component of his life story, so it would be wrong to not depict it. The crash, which occurred at a notoriously dangerous stretch of track, occurred later in Jann’s career than is depicted, and the depiction only shows the consequences for him and his family, rather than the toll for the spectators and their families. It does not glorify, but the extent to which the scenes respected the wishes of the families and provided a complete representation of events has outraged some critics.
Leaving this aspect aside, enjoyed in isolation, GT is a white-knuckle ride that fans of the Fast franchise will salivate over; there’s plenty of innovative cinematography that takes the audience trackside. Harbour and Bloom, alongside Djimon Hounsou and Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, bring the star power, while theatre trained newcomer Archie Madekwe depicts Jann’s rags- to-riches arc well. While mostly a high-octane popcorn flick, GT does explore the question of whether the kids are alright, and whether parents should necessarily lecture their offspring about stepping away from the consoles and out into the sunshine. Gaming, YouTubing and TikToking can be a career now, just not one that the previous generations can recognise or understand.
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