---
title: "Gran Turismo"
year: 2023
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/gran-turismo"
fi1m_id: "gran-turismo"
imdb_id: "tt4495098"
tmdb_id: 980489
wikidata_id: "Q112909147"
fi1m_score: 56
critics_score: 51
critics_reviews: 18
published: "2026-09-10"
updated: "2026-10-06T10:36:43.609176+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Gran Turismo (2023)

Directed by Neill Blomkamp · 2h 15m · MPA PG-13 · Adventure, Drama, Action, Sport

## Identity

Gran Turismo

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/gran-turismo
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** gran-turismo
- **IMDb ID:** tt4495098
- **TMDB ID:** 980489
- **Wikidata ID:** Q112909147
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4495098/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/980489, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q112909147

**Fi1m score: 56** · Critics 51 from 18 reviews

*In a sentence:* A two-hour advert for Nissan in which David Harbour behaves as if nobody told him

> Neill Blomkamp’s races have real speed and weight, and David Harbour gives the film a pulse. Around them, Zach Baylin and Jason Hall’s script hits every beat of the underdog sports film in order, and too much of the rest is an advert for the car.

## Synopsis

Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe) spends his evenings in his bedroom playing *Gran Turismo*, a driving simulation exact enough that he knows the braking point of every corner on tracks he has never visited. His father Steve (Djimon Hounsou) wants him to find a job; his mother Lesley (Geri Halliwell-Horner) keeps the peace. Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom), a marketing man at Nissan, sells his bosses on GT Academy, a scheme to take the fastest players and train them as real racing drivers. Jack Salter (David Harbour), a former driver who works on engines, is hired to run the training and does not believe a word of it. Jann qualifies, and the film follows him from the sofa to the grid.

## Review

Neill Blomkamp has made a film from a PlayStation game and from a true story, and *Gran Turismo* spends 135 minutes trying to serve both. Zach Baylin and Jason Hall’s script follows Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe) from the bedroom where he plays the game to the paddock where he drives the car, and it stops at every station of the underdog sports film on the way: the father who wants him to get a job, the coach who thinks the whole thing is a stunt, the rich rival, the montage, the podium. None of it is done badly. All of it is done in the order you expect.

The races are what keep it upright. Jacques Jouffret puts his cameras on the cars, low by the wheels and hard against the tarmac, so that speed reads as speed and not as a smear with a soundtrack. Blomkamp’s one real idea is to let the game show through the film: a car dissolves into the wire frame a player would see, a coloured line paints itself onto the road where the game would draw it, and for a second we are inside Jann’s head, reading a real corner as a diagram. It is a gimmick, and it is the right one for this story. We sat forward during a race at the Red Bull Ring, when Jann goes for a gap the men around him have not seen, and we stayed forward until the flag.

David Harbour plays Jack Salter as a man who has agreed to do something stupid for money and intends to say so. He is heavy, grey-stubbled and unimpressed, and he takes the most worn scenes in the script, the pep talk, the dressing-down in the garage, and plays them as if he has spent years in garages. When he tells the recruits that no game can teach them what fear does to a driver, we believed him, and this film badly needs someone we believe. Madekwe is quieter, a watchful boy who does his best acting with his face inside a helmet, which is an odd thing to say about a lead and is meant as praise. Djimon Hounsou, as the father, gets two good scenes and a great deal of standing in doorways.

Orlando Bloom plays Danny Moore, the Nissan marketing man whose idea GT Academy is, and the film is fond of him. The recruits race in Nissans, arrive in Nissans and are photographed beside Nissans, and Terry Anderson’s costumes are honest about the arrangement: the race suits are logos with a person inside. A sports film paid for by the sport is nothing new. This one keeps stopping to thank the sponsor, and it writes the salesman as a visionary, so that a story about a boy and his father keeps turning into a story about a car company.

Colby Parker, Jr. and Austyn Daines cut the racing fast and now and then too fast; there are overtakes we could not follow, and a driving film should never leave us guessing who is in front. Lorne Balfe, Andrew Kawczynski and Boys Noize supply an electronic pulse that works under the engines and vanishes the moment the cars stop. Martin Whist’s production design is best in the paddocks, which are cramped and full of tyres and men in headsets; the Mardenborough house looks like somewhere nobody has lived.

The second half takes a turn we will not describe. What we can say is that the film takes a real event from Mardenborough’s career and moves it to where the script needs it, and we were uneasy about that, because a thing that happened to a real man is being used as a plot point. Blomkamp’s [*District 9*](https://film.one/film/district-9), from 2009, was full of invention; nothing here is invented except the wire-frame trick. Against [*Rush*](https://film.one/film/rush) and *Le Mans ‘66*, it has faster cameras and slower people.

See it for the driving if driving is your thing, and see it on the biggest screen with the loudest speakers you can find, because at home the races shrink to the size of the game and the film has nothing else to fall back on. The 12A certificate is fair. The 135 minutes are about twenty too many, and most of the spare ones are spent off the track.

*Fi1m score 56, published 10 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics agree on the shape of Gran Turismo: the racing works, the film around it does not. The praise clusters on the track sequences and on David Harbour, whose trainer is named again and again as the human element the story otherwise lacks, with Archie Madekwe and Djimon Hounsou mentioned less often.

The reservations cluster just as tightly: a formulaic underdog script, thin characters, and product placement so heavy that several reviews describe the film as an advertisement first and a drama second. The spread is wide. Variety calls it Blomkamp’s best film and finds it free of cynicism, and Deadline is similarly warm, while The Telegraph and Slant Magazine find little of value beyond the branding. A smaller group, including Collider and /Film, dissents on the one point most agree on, arguing the races themselves are badly staged and hard to follow. Den of Geek and the Evening Standard also object to how real events are rearranged for drama.

## Straight answers

**Is Gran Turismo worth watching?**

*Gran Turismo* is worth watching only if racing is your thing, and we scored it 56. Neill Blomkamp's races have real speed and David Harbour gives the film a pulse, but the script follows every beat of the underdog sports film in order and too much of the rest is an advert for Nissan. See it on the biggest screen you can find; at home the races shrink to the size of the game.

**How long is Gran Turismo, and what is it rated?**

*Gran Turismo* runs 2h 15m and is rated PG-13 by the MPA in the US. It is an adventure and drama film.

**Where can I watch Gran Turismo in the US?**

*Gran Turismo* is streaming on HBO Max, Hulu, Disney+, The Roku Channel and Amazon Prime Video in the US, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Gran Turismo, and is it suitable for children?**

*Gran Turismo* is a 12A and we think the certificate is fair, with racing crashes and rough talk in the garage rather than anything graphic. The second half takes a turn involving a real event from Jann Mardenborough's career that younger children may find upsetting, but teenagers and anyone who can sit through a two-hour sports film should be fine.

**How does Gran Turismo compare to Rush?**

*Gran Turismo* has faster cameras than [*Rush*](https://film.one/film/rush) and slower people, and Ron Howard's film is the better of the two. *Rush* gives you a rivalry between grown men that matters, where *Gran Turismo* offers a boy in a helmet and a car company being thanked at every stop. Choose *Gran Turismo* for the driving and the wire-frame trick; choose *Rush* for the drama.

**What should I watch after Gran Turismo?**

After *Gran Turismo*, try [*Rush*](https://film.one/film/rush) (2013, Fi1m 82): Ron Howard’s Hunt and Lauda rivalry has the racing and the grown-up people this lacks. Then [*Le Mans '66*](https://film.one/film/ford-v-ferrari) (2019, Fi1m 80): Damon and Bale build a car and a friendship, and the film earns both; and [*Senna*](https://film.one/film/senna) (2010, Fi1m 84): A documentary built almost entirely from race footage, and tenser than any staged lap.

### Reviews we read (25)

- **The Guardian**, Mark Kermode (75/100, inferred): The film delivers pedal-to-the-metal entertainment despite leaning on genre clichés in its underdog sports story. It stands out for visually blurring the line between simulated gaming and real racing while the lead actors lend a human touch. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/aug/13/gran-turismo-review-game-boy-turned-real-life-motor-sport-whiz-kid-neill-blomkamp-geri-halliwell-orlando-bloom)
- **Sight and Sound** (70/100, inferred): The film is a thoroughly entertaining but clichéd sporting underdog story with gripping racing scenes and a surprising sense of personality from good casting and kinetic filmmaking. It succeeds in delivering an authentic feelgood rush despite its IP-extension origins and boilerplate narrative. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/gran-turismo-thoroughly-entertaining-cliched-sporting-underdog-story)
- **Total Film**, Neil Smith (70/100, inferred): The critic calls it a fun if formulaic thrill-ride. They praise the on-track tension and David Harbour's charismatic performance while noting the predictable sports-movie structure. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/gran-turismo-movie-review/)
- **Evening Standard**, Charlotte O'Sullivan (60/100, inferred): The critic finds the racing sequences thrilling and praises David Harbour's performance. They criticise the shameless product placement and the inaccurate rearrangement of real events for dramatic effect. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/gran-turismo-review-jann-mardenborough-david-harbour-b1099306.html)
- **Screen Daily** (60/100, inferred): Neill Blomkamp delivers a high-octane underdog sports drama with electrifying race-car sequences and gripping set pieces, but a badly clichéd narrative away from the track. The energetic endeavour often plays like a feature-length ad for the game, though it should entice car and racing aficionados. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/gran-turismo-review/5184754.article)
- **Time Out**, Phil de Semlyen (3/5): The film is a glossy marketing exercise with heavy product placement that delivers a few minutes of thunder in its thrilling race sequences. The surrogate father-son dynamic between Harbour and Madekwe provides a needed human core amid the corporate shilling and familiar storytelling beats. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/gran-turismo-2023)
- **The AV Club**, Eric Francisco (C): The film spins its wheels with rote storytelling and insufficient dramatic tension despite a compelling real-life premise. Strong racing sequences and supporting performances from David Harbour and Djimon Hounsou provide the few bright spots. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/review-of-the-big-screen-playstation-adaptation-gran-t-1850716706)
- **Empire**, John Nugent (40/100, inferred): The critic views it as a marketing exercise heavy on product placement rather than a genuine film. They note warm performances from David Harbour and Djimon Hounsou but criticise the lack of tension and formulaic approach. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/gran-turismo/)
- **Radio Times**, Terry Staunton (2/5): Director Blomkamp is gridlocked between pedestrian biography, edge-of-the-seat action and cynical product placement, with racing sequences that have bite but human elements that are underwhelming. The film struggles to get out of second gear, feeling like extended commercials with a risk of viewer fatigue. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/gran-turismo-review/)
- **Vulture** (30/100, inferred): The movie functions more as an advertisement than a genuine film, lacking texture, joy, and a compelling central character. It offers a numbing reassurance about gaming rather than any meaningful vindication fantasy. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/gran-turismo-review-this-isnt-a-movie-its-an-ad.html)
- **Slant Magazine** (1/4): The film lacks connective tissue between its set pieces but compensates with strong vibes and impressive racing sequences. It prioritizes adrenalized brand extension over coherent storytelling. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/gran-turismo-review-neill-blomkamp/)
- **The Telegraph** (1/5): The film is a purringly complacent insult to the video game, barely getting off the artistic starting line as a shiny corporate exercise. It fails to rise above montages and branding despite some force in one performance. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/gran-turismo-review-sony-playstation/)
- **IndieWire**, Christian Zilko: Blomkamp's adaptation never escapes its cynical commercial origins as a video game ad, yet certain triumphant moments still land effectively. The result is a mixed bag that highlights both the story's appeal and its inherent limitations. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/gran-turismo-review-movie-1234893095/)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Katie Walsh: The slick, formulaic sports film works as revved-up entertainment thanks to Archie Madekwe’s earnest performance and David Harbour’s grounded presence. Ultimately it feels like an ad for big dreams and cars, with undeniable cynicism undergirding the Nissan publicity stunt. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-08-23/review-gran-turismo-david-harbour-orlando-bloom-neill-blomkamp)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Justin Lowe: The film delivers dynamic race sequences and visual thrills but suffers from predictable plotting and thin character development. Blomkamp's effects background helps make the action a contender despite its limitations. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/gran-turismo-review-orlando-bloom-david-harbour-neill-blomkamp-1235557511/)
- **The New Yorker**: Neill Blomkamp’s video-game adaptation is encrusted with product placement and flagrantly unembarrassed by its commercial obligations. The soul of the film is in the selling, with only David Harbour’s performance providing some abrasion to the smooth absurdities. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/08/28/gran-turismo-movie-review-fremont)
- **The New York Times**, Nicolas Rapold: The film turns the true story of a gamer becoming a racer into a standard underdog sports drama. The critic faults the platitudinous script and lack of cinematic excitement or dynamism in the racing sequences. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/24/movies/gran-turismo-review.html)
- **The Times**, Kevin Maher (★★☆☆☆): The underdog sports movie skids into a long-form PlayStation commercial that is messy and overexposed corporate branding. It amounts to little more than repeated races and montages plastered with messaging. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/gran-turismo-review-pmp83qr7t)
- **Variety**, Owen Gleiberman: Blomkamp’s best film tells the true story with spontaneous humanistic grace and dazzling racing sequences that put the audience in the driver’s seat. It has an innocence and authenticity rare for the genre, like a Fast and Furious movie made without cynicism. [Read](https://variety.com/2023/film/reviews/gran-turismo-review-1235690478/)
- **Deadline**, Todd McCarthy (80/100, inferred): The critic praises the film as a fresh and engaging racing drama with potent action and well-defined characters, highlighting its positive attitude and the impressive filming of the climax at Le Mans. They single out the story of overcoming doubts and taking risks as particularly provocative. [Read](https://deadline.com/2023/08/gran-turismo-movie-review-sony-playstation-neill-blomkamp-1235457299/)
- **The Wrap** (65/100, inferred): The review notes the film is a contradiction as a video game movie and true story, elevated by the strong performances of Archie Madekwe and David Harbour and its focus on fathers and sons rather than just racing. It complains that while good in the moment, it may not be memorable long-term. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/gran-turismo-review-neill-blomkamp/)
- **Collider**, Ross Bonaime (C): The critic finds the adaptation full of clichés, poor direction making races incomprehensible, and an underwhelming story, though some performances stand out. It fails to capture the excitement of the game or racing films like Rush or Ford v. Ferrari. [Read](https://collider.com/gran-turismo-movie-review/)
- **Den of Geek**, Don Kaye (2/5): The film is a formulaic sports movie that squanders its true story by playing fast and loose with the facts, especially by exploiting a real-life tragedy for dramatic payoff. It settles for surface-level treatment of its themes and mostly shallow characters, though David Harbour gives a standout performance as the trainer and some racing sequences have visual flair. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/gran-turismo-true-story-vs-the-video-game-movie/)
- **/Film**, Jeremy Mathai (4/10): The critic finds the film a frustrating and conventional video game adaptation that fails to capture excitement or stakes, stuck in neutral as a racing biopic. They single out the poorly staged racing sequences and over-reliance on video game conventions as major complaints. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/1360087/gran-turismo-movie-review/)
- **Polygon**, Oli Welsh (40/100, inferred): The critic sees it as a broad, trashy sports drama that's more brand advertorial than authentic adaptation, leaning into cringeworthy gamer power fantasy and culture war tropes instead of the inspiring real story of games opening doors. Racing scenes are frenetic but repetitive. [Read](https://www.polygon.com/reviews/23823600/gran-turismo-movie-review-jann-mardenborough/)

## Details

- **Director:** Neill Blomkamp
- **Director:** Neill Blomkamp
- **Screenplay:** Jason Hall, Zach Baylin
- **Cinematography:** Jacques Jouffret
- **Editor:** Austyn Daines, Colby Parker, Jr.
- **Music:** Andrew Kawczynski, Lorne Balfe, Boys Noize
- **Production design:** Martin Whist
- **Costume design:** Terry Anderson
- **Producer:** Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, Doug Belgrad
- **Cast:** Archie Madekwe as Jann Mardenborough; David Harbour as Jack Salter; Orlando Bloom as Danny Moore; Djimon Hounsou as Steve Mardenborough; Darren Barnet as Matty Davis; Maeve Courtier-Lilley as Audrey; Geri Halliwell as Lesley Mardenborough; Daniel Puig as Coby Mardenborough
- **Runtime:** 2h 15m
- **Certificate (MPA):** PG-13
- **Release (the US):** 25 August 2023
- **Genres:** Adventure, Drama, Action, Sport
- **Budget:** $60 million
- **Box office:** $122 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCYHn8mvyF8

## Where to watch in the US

- HBO Max: streaming
- Hulu: streaming, uhd
- Disney+: add-on, uhd
- The Roku Channel: add-on, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: add-on
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $12.99, uhd

*Checked 2026-09-10.*

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, ES, FI, FR, GB, HK, HR, ID, IE, IN, IT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, TH, TR, US, VN. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- The Game Awards − Best Adaptation 2023: The Game Awards − Best Adaptation (nominated)

## If you liked this

- *Rush* (2013), Fi1m 82: Ron Howard’s Hunt and Lauda rivalry has the racing and the grown-up people this lacks. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/rush.md)
- *Le Mans '66* (2019), Fi1m 80: Damon and Bale build a car and a friendship, and the film earns both. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/ford-v-ferrari.md)
- *Senna* (2010), Fi1m 84: A documentary built almost entirely from race footage, and tenser than any staged lap. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/senna.md)
- *Grand Prix* (1966): Frankenheimer strapped cameras to the cars first, and the split screens still work.
- *Speed Racer* (2008): The Wachowskis’ cartoon racer treats the game look as a style rather than a gimmick.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/gran-turismo