Gran Turismo is a 2023 American biographical sports drama film directed by Neill Blomkamp, based on the Gran Turismo racing video game series and tells the true story of British teenager Jann Mardenborough, a Gran Turismo player who became a professional race car driver. Archie Madekwe stars as Mardenborough, with David Harbour, Orlando Bloom, Darren Barnet, Geri Halliwell Horner, and Djimon Hounsou in supporting roles. The film follows Mardenborough as he goes from being a teenage Gran Turismo fanatic to competing in real-world racing after winning a competition in the game. The film depicts his training and first races as a professional driver.
Gran Turismo was in development for over a decade with various directors and writers attached before Blomkamp took over in 2022. Filming took place in Hungary and wrapped in December 2022. The film premiered in July 2023 and was theatrically released by Sony Pictures on August 25, 2023. It has grossed $122 million worldwide on a $60 million budget and received mixed reviews, with praise for the racing sequences but criticism for the writing.
Gran Torino
Gran Torino is a 2008 American drama film directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, where he plays Walt Kowalski, a disabled Korean War veteran and recently widowed Korean War veteran who is alienated from his family and angry at the world. Walt develops a relationship with his Hmong teenage neighbor Thao Vang Lor, who attempts to steal Walt’s prized 1972 Ford Gran Torino as a coerced initiation into a local Hmong gang run by Thao’s cousin Spider. Walt thwarts the theft and subsequently develops a relationship with Thao and his family, offering Thao life advice and employment. Meanwhile, the gang continues to pressure Thao as they attack his family. Walt ultimately confronts the gang members alone, killing several in a climactic shootout. In the aftermath, Thao inherits the Gran Torino and his family is safe, while Walt dies quietly from his own gunshot wounds, implicitly as a deliberate sacrifice to save the boy. The film explores themes of racial prejudice, cultural understanding, inheritance, and redemption. Eastwood’s performance was critically acclaimed, as was the film itself, which grossed over $270 million worldwide. Gran Torino is considered one of Eastwood’s finest films in his later career.
The Difference
The difference between the two is a matter of preference. I prefer Gran Turismo now, but thought Gran Torino was compelling at the time even though both can be seen as white savior movies. Drake prefers Gran Torino, but it’s because it rhymes better.
