Movie Review

Gran Turismo overcomes 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 Magic Faraway Tree is a whimsical family lark that fails to take root

Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment

Andrew Garfield, Delilah Bennett-Cardy, Claire Foy, Phoenix Laroche, and Billie Gadson in The Magic Faraway Tree.

With kids and families always on the hunt for entertainment, it’s typically a safe bet for a movie studio to offer up something new, even if it is a film based on an old property. The Magic Faraway Tree, based on a series of books that started in the 1930s, is a very old property, one that its filmmakers have tried to liven up with a few stars, a lot of whimsy, and a boatload of CGI.

The Thompson family, led by stay-at-home dad Tim (Andrew Garfield) and breadwinner mom Polly (Claire Foy), are forced to move to a rundown country home when Polly gets laid off. The kids - Joe (Phoenix Laroche), Fran (Billie Gadson), and Beth (Delilah Bennett-Cardy) - are used to the perks of city life like wifi and electricity, and each of them rebels in their own way to their new lot in life.

Fran, enticed by a fairy named Silky (Nicola Coughlan), is the first to venture out of the house, making her way to a magic tree that transports her to a world full of strange characters like Moonface (Nonso Anozie), Saucepan Man (Dustin Demri-Burns), Dame Washalot (Jessica Gunning), and more. Her adventures there not only broaden the world she thought she knew, but may be the key to helping her ailing family.

Directed by Ben Gregor and written by Simon Farnaby (Paddington 2, Wonka), the film is a pleasant enough lark, but it fails to fully capture the imagination. The five-member family has a lot going on, from an initially-mute Fran to a domestic situation that raises more questions than it answers. The film tries to incorporate an anti-technology message through Tim’s hatred of a smart refrigerator (voiced by Judi Dench!) and the kids' addictions to devices, but it’s quickly shed in favor of other options.

Once Fran makes it to the Magic Faraway Tree, there’s a nice shift in the storytelling, but it’s unclear what the ultimate goal is. It’s a good idea to have Fran, the youngest of the children, convince her older, more cynical siblings about the virtues of the magic world, but the conflict in the real world doesn’t seem to rise to the level needed for the escape the tree provides.

There also seems to be a missing link in the storytelling for viewers to understand the importance of the fantastical characters. The visuals of seeing Moonface and his crescent moon-shaped hair, a man with a suit full of banging pots, and more are fun for a while, but not enough to carry the whole film. A last-minute revelation feels like it was something that should have been disclosed much earlier to help strengthen the emotions of the story.

A two-time Oscar nominee, Garfield is making his first foray into family movies (if you don’t count playing Spider-Man), and while he does a good job, he doesn’t make the best fit for the semi-goofy role. The same goes for the Emmy-winning Foy, who isn’t given much of anything to do. The movie puts the story on the shoulders of the three child actors, and while each of them acquit themselves well, none of them are so outstanding as to be noteworthy.

With nearly 90-year-old source material, The Magic Faraway Tree needed to be something truly special to stand out in the 21st century movie world. Unfortunately, it features a mostly forgettable story that features some fun visuals, a couple of cute kids, and not much else.

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The Magic Faraway Tree is now playing in theaters.

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