Movie Review

Gran Turismo completely laps video game trappings with fun and thrills

Over the last 30 years or so, there have been many attempts to adapt video games into movies, with the vast majority of them failing. The success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie bucked that trend, and now comes Gran Turismo, based on the popular race car simulator and inspired by a competition in which gamers were given an opportunity to become real-life racers.

Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe) is a young man living at home who spends most of his free time playing Gran Turismo, much to the chagrin of dad, Steve (Djimon Hounsou), and mom, Lesley (Geri Horner). At the same time, Nissan executive Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom) convinces the top brass at the car company that offering top Gran Turismo players a chance to drive real race cars would be good for the brand.

Moore recruits Jack Salter (David Harbour), a longtime racing mechanic, to serve as a mentor for the gamers. Salter puts Jann and a group of international recruits through the paces, gradually winnowing them down to the one who’ll actually get to compete in a live race (one guess as to who that is). The transition from playing at home and driving on a track is a steep one, with more than a few surprises along the way.

Directed with aplomb by Neill Blomkamp and written by Jason Hall and Zach Baylin, the film is a combination of every sports movie cliché known to man and Top Gun, including elements like a father who doesn’t believe in his son's dreams, a washed-up mentor, a rival-turned-friend, a traumatic event, and more. After a bumpy start, the story evens out, making those tropes more acceptable the more you get to know the characters.

More than any recent movie about a product/business (yes, even Barbie), the movie really seems to be trying to sell viewers on how great the game is. The number of times one character or another touts Gran Turismo as the pinnacle of racing simulators in just the first half hour borders on ridiculous. The high level of commercialization is part and parcel with the story, so viewers will have to accept it at face value if they want to enjoy the movie at all.

A big plus for the film turns out to be the dedication to filming actual racing in real locations. Although there had to have been a good amount of CGI in the film, it is blended seamlessly with the authentic footage. With cameras mounted right on the cars, it makes for a you-are-there experience with some truly thrilling scenes, most notably a spectacular crash.

Madekwe has a decent number of credits to his name, but this appears to be his first starring role, and he puts in a solid performance. Both Hounsou and Harbour make for good father figures, giving the film an emotional heft, along with Horner, whose acting completely obscures the fact that in a previous life she was Ginger Spice. Bloom dials it up a bit too much in certain scenes, but he doesn’t ruin the movie.

There’s no getting around the fact that the sole reason Gran Turismo exists is to try to convince viewers how cool the game is, but as a sports movie, it follows the formula to a tee for maximum satisfaction. With the added excitement of being in/on cars while they’re speeding down the track, it overcomes its video game trappings for a legitimately fun time.

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Gran Turismo opens in theaters on August 25.

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

Archie Madekwe in Gran Turismo.

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Movie Review

The Only Living Pickpocket in New York lifts big rewards from small stakes

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

John Turturro in The Only Living Pickpocket in New York.

John Turturro is one of those people who embodies the term “character actor” the best. With over 120 credits in his nearly 50-year career, Turturro has rarely been the star of any of his projects. Instead, filmmakers have mostly used his unique face, New York accent, and inimitable acting style to help support the lead actors, a role for which Turturro seems well-suited.

Now 69, Turturro is taking the reins in The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, playing Harry, a long-in-the-tooth thief who still has skills but not as many opportunities. The plucking of wallets isn’t as lucrative in the mostly-cashless modern society, and Harry has little use for smartphones since he doesn’t know how to use them. However, a rare opportunity presents itself when he happens upon Dylan (Will Price), a young man who seems to be as oblivious as he is rich.

After a clever robbery of Dylan’s vintage car, though, Harry discovers he might be in over his head, especially when he finds a card-shaped USB drive. It's the contents of the drive that soon puts Harry and anyone around him in danger, including his wife, Rosie (Karina Arroyave), who’s suffering from unresponsive wakefulness syndrome; Ben (Steve Buscemi), who helps Harry sell stolen items; and even his estranged daughter Kelly (Tatiana Maslany).

Written and directed by Noah Segan, the film is a low-key thriller made to emulate the tempo of Harry’s life. While one of the plot points puts a degree of urgency into his actions, for the most part Harry is someone for whom slow and steady always wins the race. He is someone who has developed relationships over decades, including with NYPD Detective Warren (Giancarlo Esposito), and it’s those bonds that help him make it through each day.

Even though Harry is a criminal, the film treats him as an overall good guy, especially through the way he takes care of Rosie and the generosity he displays with his (stolen) money. Almost no one has a bad thing to say about him, and so Segan comes up with a couple of ways to give him more depth. His one scene with Kelly does the trick, providing a glimpse into a lesser man who clearly existed at one time.

One of the pleasures of the film for longtime movie fans are the reunions Turturro has with Buscemi (his co-star in The Big Lebowski) and Esposito (his co-star in Do the Right Thing). All three could be all-stars on a team of character actors, with each having made big impressions in all sorts of roles over the past 40 years. Seeing them back together again as very different characters from when they last collaborated underscores the level of talent each of them has.

Turturro ably carries the load in the lead role, but given his acting style and the type of role he’s called to play, his performance is far from showy. The same goes for Buscemi and Esposito, who are there to give great support to the classic supporting actor. When someone does go over-the-top, as Price does in most of his scenes, it stands out in a bad way. Maslany scores a lot of points in her brief appearance.

The Only Living Pickpocket in New York is a quiet film with big rewards despite its small ambitions. The beauty of the story lies in its small details, both character-related and not. Turturro rarely disappoints when he’s not the lead actor, and he demonstrates that he’s equally capable of making a movie great when he’s out front.

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The Only Living Pickpocket in New York opens in theaters on October 30.

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