Review: A gamer gets behind the wheel in the slick ‘Gran Turismo,’ an ad for big dreams (and cars)

The visual exterior of Neill Blomkamp’s video-game adaptation “Gran Turismo” mimics that of a race car itself: shiny, colorful, chrome. There’s a real surface appeal to this movie, which is based on the remarkable true story of Jann Mardenborough, an English gamer and fan of the “Gran Turismo” driving simulator, who won a Nissan- If you start pulling apart this rousing, if formulaic, sports flick, it’ll all come undone. “Gran Turismo” does attempt to get ahead of the craven capitalism on display with Orlando Bloom’s knowing portrayal of Nissan marketing exec Danny Moore. Danny flashes a sharky grin at Nissan execs while describing the gamers in whom “Gran Turismo” has “ignited a passion for driving.” He cooks up the scheme for the gamer-to-racer driving academy, and though winning is winning, he still wants the most camera-ready driver behind the wheel of the first Nissan Motorsports vehicle, even if he isn’t quite ready for the track. Archie Madekwe plays determined driving-enthusiast Jann with a shy charm, and if “Gran Turismo” works, it’s due to Madekwe’s performance, as well as the gruff and grounded presence of David Harbour as Jack Salter, a former race-car driver and engineer tapped to train the gamers.