Gran Turismo Trailer: Neill Blomkamp's Video Game Movie Is A True Story Racing Drama

If I had a nickel for every time Hollywood developed a video game movie that isn't technically a video game movie, I'd have two nickels — which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it's happened twice recently.

Yes, "Tetris" isn't the only 2023 movie that focuses more on a video game's real-world impact than the game itself. The other one is Neill Blomkamp's "Gran Turismo," a true story drama about Jann Mardenborough (played by "Midsommar" and "Beau Is Afraid" actor Archie Madekwe) and how he went from a kid playing "Gran Turismo" video games to becoming a professional race car driver. The footage shown at Sony's CinemaCon panel presented the film — which was penned by "American Sniper" scribe Jason Hall and "King Richard" writer Zach Baylin — as a "Top Gun"-styled rah-rah depiction of a U.S. institution (in this case, the racing car industry) crossed with a real-life underdog sports biopic. That certainly tracks, given Hall and Baylin's previous output as screenwriters.

If you feel the need for speed yourself, check out the "Gran Turismo" trailer below.

Based on the CinemaCon preview footage and the "Gran Turismo" sneak peek released back in January, it seems Neill Blomkamp is pulling out all the stops when it comes to finding innovative ways of staging the film's racing scenes (all the while tipping his hat to the titular video game). But then again, the "District 9" and "Chappie" filmmaker has never had a hard time coming up with interesting visuals and concepts; what he really struggles with is fleshing out his ideas into equally compelling stories and characters. That's not just me bad-mouthing the guy, either. As Blomkamp himself once admitted, "concepts are just as interesting to me as stories are." That also explains why so many of his films sound fascinating in theory, yet end up being disjointed in execution.

Can the "Gran Turismo" actors bring some emotional substance to the film's stylized action and formulaic plot? Among those joining Archie Madekwe in the ensemble is a well-cast David Harbour, bringing his finely-honed gruff paternal "Stranger Things" energy to his role as Jann's trainer. Orlando Bloom also co-stars as a slick marketing executive who sees the potential in using "Gran Turismo" as a training tool for real-life car racers, with Djimon Hounsou ("Shazam!") playing Jann's disapproving father — and the last thing anyone would want is Djimon Hounsou's disapproval, amirite?

For now, we'll just have to speculate whether "Gran Turismo" is the next great true story racing drama (think "Ford vs. Ferrari") or the latest entry in the sub-genre of weird movies inspired by racing video games, joining "Need for Speed." (For those not familiar: "Need for Speed" is a deeply strange film where scenes like this happen for no apparent reason.) All shall be revealed when the film hits theaters on August 11, 2023.