Weekend Watch: Gran Turismo, Ahsoka
Driving ambitions and rebels with a cause
Image Credit: Sony Pictures
Welcome to the latest edition of Weekend Watch, in which I recommend (or occasionally warn against) movies or TV shows I’ve been checking out. This week, a gamer succeeds in racing and a former Jedi goes on a quest. Follow James on Twitter: @jamwhite and Threads/Instagram: @jammerwhite
First up, we have a valiant effort to find an interesting way to bring a video game to the screen that gets a little lost weaving between giant slabs of product placement.
Gran Turismo, somewhat surprisingly directed by District 9’s Neill Blomkamp, is a functional, fitfully fun ride through the (based on) real-life story of Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe), a gamer living in the UK who is obsessed with the PlayStation-based driving simulation ‘Gran Turismo’. He’s become a highly proficient driver, rising up the ranks of top players and saving money to buy new gaming equipment even as his parents –– particularly former professional footballer Steve (Djimon Hounsou) –– don’t understand his ambitions.
Jann’s life changes forever when he wins an invite-only GT race, gaining him entry to an exclusive academy set up primarily as a marketing deal between Nissan (driven by ambitious PR executive Danny Moore, played by Orlando Bloom) and Sony. Whoever succeeds at the academy will score a contract –– subject to also securing a racing license by finishing at least fourth in one race –– to drive in Nissan’s professional team for races in Europe and the United Arab Emirates.
After making it through as the champ, Jann faces the toughest test of his life... since racing with trained drivers who have been behind the wheel of actual vehicles for years is no mean feat. And he faces snobbish backlash from both pit crews and the drivers he’s competing against. Aided by former driver-turned-mentor Jack Salter (David Harbour), Jann will have to prove he has what it takes on actual tracks such as the legendary Le Mans in France.
The film primarily functions as an ad for how nifty Gran Turismo is, and for Nissan cars, which it doesn’t try to hide. It’s just that despite the compelling true story at its heart, it veers off into the expected tropes and some oddly unemotional storytelling.
Blomkamp, meanwhile, essentially keeps the visual trickery to a minimum, instead sticking to sweeping drone camera shots of races and the occasional moment where we dive into the mechanics. It’s just a shame that neither he nor writers Jason Hall and Zach Baylin ever really figure out what makes the humans at its core tick, except possibly in one exception.
If there’s an MVP here (or perhaps making the podium would be a more apt phrase), it’s Harbour’s Salter, who might as well be called “Salty”. A gruff but fair hand who delights in tossing the gamers from the programme but realises that Jann might just have what it takes, he’s the most entertaining thing in a film that largely struggles to find that gear.
Gran Turismo was released in the UK on 11 August and is in US cinemas now.
Image Credit: Disney+
The Star Wars universe just keeps on expanding –– at least on TV screens. Not everything has lived up to the standards of The Mandalorian (looking at you, Obi-Wan Kenobi and The Book Of Boba Fett), while Andor was off in its own league of quality small-screen entertainment.
Ahsoka represents Mando co-creator Dave Filoni continuing stories and characters he developed in the Clone Wars and Rebels animated series (and briefly touched upon when ex-Jedi Ahsoka Tano herself, played in live-action form by Rosario Dawson, showed up on Mandalorian and Boba Fett).
For her stand-alone (as much as a Wars show can truly be stand-alone in this tightly woven tapestry) series, Tano takes centre stage, heading out on a mission to track down exiled Imperial Admiral Thrawn lest he return and unite remnants of the galactic threat and endanger the perilous peace.
Those who’ve watched both Clone Wars and Rebels will be all caught up on what this all means and who the “new” characters we meet (including Natasha Liu Bordizzo’s rebellious Sabin Wren and Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s dedicated General Hera Syndulla). Anyone else shouldn’t find themselves too lost in space –– Filoni and the other members of the creative team do fill in a few details and the characters are introduced well enough that you quickly grasp the friendships and pasts on display.
For the most part, this is an impressive debut, balancing both the needs of completists and those who might be tempted to watch because they enjoyed the energy that Dawson brought to Ahsoka in her previous appearances. She’s just as good here, filling Ahsoka with the requisite blend of enthusiasm, yet tempered by her resolve and the weariness of everything she’s been through (when your Jedi master was Anakin Skywalker, it’s perhaps not surprising that you’re both a former member of the order and have some emotional scars).
On the villainous side, the biggest break out (so far, at least) is Ray Stevenson as another former Jedi, and it’s yet another reason to feel sorry that the late, great British actor died recently, which means he won’t get a chance to return for future adventures.
Yet there are a few problems here and there. The look of the show veers wildly from impressive Star Wars visuals to some scenes that wouldn’t look out of place in a theme park ride (an expensive theme park ride such as Disney’s Rise Of The Resistance, but still) and scenes that vary between action-packed clashes and drawn-out examinations of McGuffins. And the presence of McGuffins and side-quests alone is an annoyance in itself.
It’s more frustrating, as the appeal of the show is in Ahsoka herself and the people she trusts to help her on her mission. And we’re promised more draws from the lore in future episodes. Right now, it’s a mixed-positive recommendation to watch. The force is with this one –– mostly.
The first two episodes of Ahsoka are on Disney+ now.