The Gran Turismo movie is both a video game adaptation and a sports movie–a combination that would work regardless of the real-life angle since Gran Turismo is a sports game as it is. Having a true story at the heart of this thing only makes it more fun–Gran Turismo is the low-key, late-summer banger you didn’t see coming.
The focus of the film is on Jann Mardenborough, an obsessive Gran Turismo player who earned a spot in the third GT Academy class–a competition that intended to turn gamers into real race-car drivers. It worked. Mardenborough has been a name in professional racing around the world for over a decade.
In the film, Jann is played by Archie Madekwe. David Harbour also stars as Jack Salter, the guy who has to teach these gamers how to drive an actual car even though he doesn’t think any of them have any shot at succeeding in the racing world.