11. Juni: Gran Turismo (OV)

Gran Turismo

US (2023)


ab 12
Regie: Neill Blomkamp
Schauspieler: Archie Madekwe, David Harbour
135 Minuten
Virtual driving skills hit real tarmac.

Jann is grinding laps in his room, dreaming about real racing, while everyone else sees it as a dead-end hobby. Though, there is hope: Nissan invites the best players for realistic race car simulator Gran Turismo to the GT Academy. Jann makes it in, and suddenly he's thrown into real cars, real tracks and a super intense training program under a brutal coach who tries to prove the whole thing is a joke.

The coach, Jack Salter, starts off completely dismissing Jann - like, no way can a sim racer compete with real drivers. But once Jann gets on track, Jack's opinion starts to shift. Sure, Jann is not polished and he struggles physically, but his instincts - racing lines, braking, awareness - are weirdly good. It's one of those moments where the coach is like: "hold on... this might actually work.". At the same time, he has to push all participants to their limits, to prove that they can survive during a real race, while not posing harm to anyone - including themselves.

A lot of movies about sports surrender to the spectacle the game, the chase, the energy. Gran Turismo centers on one kid and puts you on his side. It reminds us of why Underdog stories are so effective even though a lot of them don't deliver the punch that you'd hope for - this one does! It's because of the groundwork laid by Neil Blomkamp and Archie Matakway. You just want this guy to stick it to those elitist *** who are telling him he cannot be a real driver. (FilmSpeak, youtube.com)