Gran Turismo Footage Reaction: Gaming Skills Translate To Real Life - With Real Consequences [CinemaCon 2023]

Video Game movies have truly turned a corner over the last handful of years, but with "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" currently in the midst of a record-breaking run in theaters, the tide has truly turned in a big, bad way. Fortunately for Sony Pictures, they've got a big video game movie (sort of) on the way this summer in the form of "Gran Turismo," which takes its name from the beloved eponymous racing game series. The story is based on real events, however, which makes it more than just a run-of-the-mill video game adaptation. And during Sony's presentation in Las Vegas at CinemaCon tonight, the studio showcased new footage from the film.

 /Film's Ben Pearson is on the ground to take in what every major studio in Hollywood has to offer at the event. In the case of "Gran Turismo," we got a much better look at David Harbour ("Stranger Things"), Orlando Bloom ("The Lord of the Rings"), and Archie Madekwe ("Beau is Afraid") in the high-octane flick from director Neill Blomkamp ("District 9"). The film also stars Darren Barnet ("Never Have I Ever"), Geri Halliwell Horner ("Crank: High Voltage"), and Djimon Hounsou ("Shazam!"), with Jason Hall ("American Sniper") and Zach Baylin ("King Richard") handling scripting duties.

We previously got a sneak peek of "Gran Turismo," but it wasn't exactly a proper trailer. So, what can we expect from the unconventional video game movie later this summer? Here's what Sony showcased from the feature during the panel.

Before we get into the details of the CinemaCon footage, here's the official synopsis for "Gran Turismo":

Based on the true story of Jann Mardenborough, the film is the ultimate wish fulfillment tale of a teenage 'Gran Turismo' player whose gaming skills won a series of Nissan competitions to become an actual professional racecar driver.

During the CinemaCon presentation, we learned that Bloom plays a marketing guy who realizes that "Gran Turismo" is such a good game that real drivers actually use it for training. One such player of the game named Jann Mardenborough was actually good enough to earn him a spot with real drivers. This is not fiction: this is based on a real story! What's more, Mardenborough does the actual driving in the movie for the character based on him. Now, let's get into the actual footage.

We see Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe) playing the game online. His father (Djimon Hounsou), meanwhile, is rather unhappy because his son is just playing the game all the time. But the kid discovers a contest with the best gamers in the world, and that's when everything changes. It has a bit of a "Kingsman" look, with an academy for these drivers. David Harbour's character says this won't work but he's forced to train the gamers to be athletic and physical. He's a coach of sorts.

There's also a bit of a "Top Gun" Maverick" vibe, with talk of how tough it is in the cockpit. Real cars are on a track crashing into the players. "If you miss a line in the game, you reset. If you miss it on the track, you could die," Harbour says. There's one particularly cool shot of Mardenborough as a real car starts to appear around him, and it transitions into a real racetrack shot. And that's about it!

"Gran Turismo" is set to hit theaters on August 11, 2023.