Initial reviews of the Gran Turismo movie are mixed
By ForGeeks
The first reviews for the movie Gran Turismo have surfaced, and they’re mixed. At the time of writing, the movie has a 55% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, meaning there are slightly more positive reviews than negative ones. On Metacritic, the movie has a score of 41.
The movie is rated at 41.
Of the available reviews, nine are written by critics labeled on the Rotten Tomatoes website as «Top Critics». Of those, seven are negative and two are positive. Variety gives the movie a positive review, while critic Owen Gleiberman says the following: «Gran Turismo puts the viewer in the driver’s seat more than any other race-car movie I can recall».
The movie’s a good one.
Christian Zilko of IndieWire is also impressed, giving the movie a B grade and noting that while the movie is designed to promote the game, director Neill Blomkamp made a good movie better. Ryan Gilbey of The Guardian is far less forgiving of the movie’s game promotion, rating it one star and calling it «a super-empty ode to product placement».
The Guardian’s Ryan Gilbey is much less forgiving.
John Nugent of Empire gives the movie 2 stars and ends with a similar metaphor. «It’s the usual Top Gun-Rocky-Mighty Ducks formula, plus as many licensed logos in the frame as you can fit» — he says. «Gran Turismo, — the characters often remind us, — is not a game, but a racing simulator. You might as well say it’s not really a movie — it’s a movie simulator».
And it’s not really a movie.
The Gran Turismo movie is released Aug. 9 in the U.K. and Aug. 11 in the U.S., and on Aug. 25 — in wide release. The movie is based on the true story of Yann Mardenborough, who won the GT Academy esport event in 2011 and is now a professional racing driver competing in Japan’s Super GT series.
