Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Gran Turismo 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

"If you miss a line in the game, you reset. If you miss it on the track, you could die."

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown November 13, 2023

Take a trip with me, all the way back to 1997. A little racing phenom, Gran Turismo, had been tearing up the PS1 charts since its release in May, spending the summer collecting a string of buzzy reviews hailing it as a "must own" glimpse into "the future of racing games". Me? I waited four months to buy a copy. Why? Because I knew what was coming. In August, I walked into our local Babbage's (might need to Google that one, kiddies) and stood at the cash register with bated breath. "A copy of Gran Turismo, please." Anything else? "Yeah," I said, stirring with excitement. "I also reserved one of the new Dual Analog controllers." Smart choice, kid! It feels like you're really driving when you use one of those. Yes, yes. Analog sticks legitimately rose to the level of "the future" in 1997. Never mind that. What I remember was getting home, tossing GT1 in ye olde PlayStation and watching as the videogame world opened up in front of my eyes. Flying at high speeds along a dazzling forest track, trying to get used to the precision of analog-stick steering. Opening as many cars (of the 180!) that I could manage. Finding my favorites. Toying with the cinematic replay feature after races... I couldn't get enough.

And so it was, earlier this fall, that I walked into the lobby of a 4DX multiplex and unashamedly bought a ticket for director Neill Blomkamp's Gran Turismo; high on the octane of nostalgia alone. I didn't expect a good flick. At all. Just a little trot down memory lane. I didn't care about the "based on a true story" tagline. The whole plot sounded ridiculous. How could it possibly pull off movie magic with such a hamstrung storyline? And, believe me, I certainly didn't expect to find myself... having a good time? With what revealed itself to be a surprisingly solid little videogame adaptation? One that turned out to be... wait a minute... a lot of fun? What just happened?

Blomkamp's 'Gran Turismo' is based on the unbelievable true story of a team of unlikely underdogs -- struggling working-class gamer Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe), failed former racecar driver Jack Salter (David Harbour) and idealistic motorsport executive Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom) -- who, together, risk it all to take on the most elite sport in the world. Putting a gamer in the driver's seat of a very real, very fast high-end car may seem like little more than a videogame fan's fantasy, but that's exactly where Mardenborough found himself in 2011, beating out more than 90,000 contest entrants to score a chance behind the wheel. Marketing materials hail it as an "inspiring, thrilling, action-packed story that proves that nothing is impossible when you’re fueled from within." The film also stars Darren Barnet, Takehiro Hira, Geri Halliwell-Horner, Djimon Hounsou and Josha Stradowski.

Is Gran Turismo a genuine true-story biopic? Eh, don't ask questions that spoil the smartly tuned, teeth-clenching races that are the stars of the show. There's enough truth here to warrant the tag, and enough serious edge to the performances to sell what might otherwise be a ludicrous story of a gamer rising to fame in career racing. Bloom is a bit miscast (as is often the case outside of his more fantastical roles), with some rather flat enthusiasm and garish charm. But Madekwe and Harbour bring the chemistry, and not much else matters. The plot unfolds at breakneck speed (once it gets rolling that is), relying on flashy visuals and Harbour's incredulous disbelief turned suspension-of-disbelief to mask the potential silliness lurking beneath the surface. Moreover, Lorne Balfe and Andrew Kawczynski's score, though a tad generic and videogame-y, rises to the bar of Jacques Jouffret's whip-pan cinematography to create a real sense of asphalt-blurring suspense, hair-raising danger and striking visuals. Speed isn't the only thing the film recreates either. There's a decent streak of heart and humor at the film's core. The whole thing runs rather long and could've used some trimming, sure, but there's a palpable sense of energy and electricity on hand to draw you in, leading up to a third act that barely takes a breath.

With that out of the way comes the skeptic's obvious question: how much of your enjoyment came down to nostalgia and videogame fandom? It's impossible to tell, though I have no doubt fans of the PlayStation series have more to build on than those looking for a straight- laced sports film. Thankfully, Blomkamp and screenwriters Jason Hall and Zach Baylin don't hedge their bets on the movie's title, any inherited series' good will or the ever-rabid PS5 fan club's eagerness to turn out for a videogame adaptation. Their eyes are on a bigger prize. They're out to make a strong racing film, and therein lies Gran Turismo's advantage. Every beat of the film is eager to prove the merits of its existence. Some more cheesy winks and nods might have squeezed some extra easter egg love out of gamers but Blomkamp doesn't use the videogame series to try to make a videogame movie, just like the GT PlayStation series has never tried to be a mere game. From GT's 1997 inception, Sony has tried to blur the lines between racing and gaming, and Blomkamp's flick does the same. Will it ever rank among the sports subgenre's best? No. There's quite a lot of tropes gumming up the gears, although other than District 9, that's essentially become one of the filmmaker's unintended, unfortunate calling cards. The thing that makes this something of a hidden gem is perhaps that it doesn't, well, suck. It's better than a Gran Turismo movie has any business being. I'd rather watch this than a Fast and Furious sequel, truth be told. And that's the wonder of moviemaking, kids. With the right team, the right actors and just enough luck, anything can be done well. Anything can be entertaining. And Gran Turismo is certainly entertaining.

Gran Turismo 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Short version before waxing poetic for the next however many words? Gran Turismo's native 4K 2160p video presentation does not disappoint in the slightest. Quite the opposite. Jacques Jouffret's palette and photography are chillier and less saturated than you might expect. The film doesn't offer up a golden-hued Michael Bay look by any means (thank God, it's overused in these sorts of movies). Instead, HDR colors are more lifelike, skintones more natural, and shadows more revealing, despite the fact that black levels remain as strong and well-contrasted as anyone could hope. That's not to say there aren't scenes packing plenty of primary punch. There are, and they stun. But just as the film is more interested in bolstering your suspension of disbelief, so too do the visuals aim for realism and deliver. (Much more so actually, even if CG elements are rendered a bit obvious at times.) Delineation is excellent, without crushing or unsightly noise. Detail is exacting, with crisp edge definition free of any halos, precise fine textures and a fully accurate and faithful representation of the original photography. Note the frazzled stubble and hairs of David Harbour's beard. The tiniest pieces of metal scattering as Jann loses control and flies off the track, destroying his car in the process. The texture of the road surface and the specks of rock bouncing as racers approach. The slightest beads of rain streaking across a windshield. The leaves of the trees along the edge of a track. Better still, I didn't detect any hint of artifacting, banding or other anomalies that might distract. This is a near-flawless, if not flawless, 4K video presentation that will make fans sit up and take notice. Sony is killing it when it comes to the AV presentation of new releases.

Gran Turismo 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

You can already hear it, can't you? The roar of high-end dream cars whipping past the camera as it struggles to keep up with the sheer speed of the races. The explosion of cheers from an enraptured crowd. The slingshot rise and sudden fall of an engine as it screams into and out of existence. The mechanical precision of a crew eager to eek that much more speed and power into a racetrack monster. The terrifying rending of metal on metal as a car flips end over end. You'll be pleased to know those sounds, and so many more, are brought to immersive, gripping life via the 4K Blu-ray release of Gran Turismo's Dolby Atmos experience (and 24-bit 48kHz Dolby TrueHD 7.1 core); the closest you'll come to recreating the same absorbing sonic fun of the film's theatrical presentation. Dialogue is clean and clear, regardless of how loud and throaty race scenes become. Prioritization is top notch and each element of the original sound design is nestled neatly amongst one another. The surrounding channels are all but electrified too, with whiplash quick pans, a stunningly realistic soundfield, and plenty of full-theater-room engagement to leave listeners grinning. Low-end output is a beast unto itself, lending chest-thumping weight and heft to revving and raging engines, the thunder of tires holding onto asphalt, and crews using everything at their disposal to keep racers rolling on the road. Moreover, the videogame experience is brought to the screen a bit as well. As the camera pushes in and tracks cars, so too does the Atmos mix crescendo and, just when you think everything has been thrown at you, impresses just a little bit more. I can't imagine Gran Turismo, or any racing film for that matter, sounding much better, more authentic and more true to the film's sonic source than it does here. Enjoy!

Gran Turismo 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Deleted & Extended Scenes (HD, 11 minutes) - Five additional scenes/scene extensions are included, though none of them struck me as remotely necessary. For big fans of the film only.

• The Plan: The True Story of Jann Mardenborough (HD, 6 minutes) - The one extra that picqued my interest by title alone -- a possible deep dive into the true story behind the claims of "true story" plastered across every trailer prior to Gran Turismo's theatrical release -- sadly turns out to be little more than an all-too-brief look at the people and events that inspired the film.

• The Wheels: The Fast-Acting Cast (HD, 6 minutes) - The actors sit down for an EPK quickie.

• The Pit Crew: Action and Stunts (HD, 6 minutes) - A look at the fast action and movie magic that created GT's kinetic races. Like most of the featurettes, though, this is pure studio fluff.

• The Engine: Driving the Visuals (HD, 5 minutes) - A glimpse into the film's driving styles.

• The Garage: The Amazing Automobiles (HD, 5 minutes) - The cars of Gran Turismo, front and center.

Gran Turismo 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The film? No Mamet or Scorsese, but it's surprisingly solid. The 4K video presentation? Stunning. The Dolby Atmos audio experience? Absorbing, immersive and powerful. The special features? Eh, did I mention the AV quality and the fact that the movie actually, ya know, works? Other than a disappointing sprinkling of supplements, the 4K Blu-ray release of Gran Turismo is an easy one to recommend.