Gran Turismo

Archie Madekwe is quite good here as the gamer Jann Mardenborough who entered a competition devised by Nissan marketing man Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom) to raise the profile of their sports cars in a league usually dominated by the likes of Porsche and Ferrari etc. There's a great degree of cynicism from the high-pressure, high-octane, industry that these glorified couch potatoes could ever make the grade, but with the help of slightly jaded but experienced coach Jack Salter (David Harbour) they decide to push these youngsters to their limits. What now ensues is based on fact, so we have little jeopardy to the ultimate denouement. That said, though, Neill Blomkamp manages to build the momentum well with some excellent action photography to get the adrenalin pumping. Neither Bloom nor Harbour are really here nor there, but the young Madekwe does manage to exude some of the grit and determination of his ambitious, fiercely competitive, and dedicated persona and it's been quite a while since I heard the dulcets of Enya emanate from a big screen. It does take a little while to get out of neutral - maybe just a bit too much familial scene setting to justify the fees of Geri Horner and Djimon Hounsou but once we escape that, the thing picks up entreatingly and is quite a thrill a times to watch. Definitely better on a big screen.