A video game movie with drive.

Love them or loath them, there’s just something so weirdly fascinating about video game movies. While cinema has grown and evolved over time around them, it feels oddly comforting to see video game films stuck almost exactly where they were decades ago.

With a few admirable exceptions, video game movies have, through the years, been largely rubbish, yet that doesn’t stop studios from making them or audiences from watching them, in the faint hope that the next one will surely - surely - be the one to lift the curse.

So, what does a movie based on one of the greatest racing games of all time have to do to break free of said curse? Well, not be a video game movie at all really.

Based on the true story of a team of unlikely underdogs, teenage working-class gamer Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe), failed former race car driver Jack Salter (David Harbour), and idealistic motorsports executive Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom) join forces as they risk everything to take on the most elite sport in the world.

So, what exactly is Gran Turismo then? Is it a video game movie? Is it an inspirational sports tale? Is it simply a two-hour-long commercial? Well, it’s kind of all three really.

Of course, carrying with it such a huge brand name as it does, it’s hard not to see Gran Turismo as anything but a video game adaptation. The highly regarded PlayStation source material and its mechanics are at the core of this film’s story, putting it squarely in the infamous video game genre, however, it’s a little bit more than that.

Viewed purely as an adaptation, director Neill Blomkamp does a more than decent job of capturing the game’s energy and spirit. ‘Gran Turismo’ the game prides itself on its ultra-realistic simulator qualities, using the idea of putting you right in the driving seat as a huge selling point, and Gran Turismo the film does well to evoke this.

As a viewing experience about as close to playing the game as you could hope to get without picking up a controller, Gran Turismo finds success from its action mechanics, with Blomkamp throwing us behind the steering wheel and offering a ride as exhilarating as any driving movie out there. As it struggles to get going, the film finds itself off to a sluggish start, however, when the racing begins to heat up, so do the thrills,

With visual nods to the game and a real hands-on approach to the action, Gran Turismo makes you feel every twist, turn, and tumble as the cars zip and slide around the track. Of course, as source material goes, the game itself is about as bare bones as you get, yet, if you’re looking for something that sticks tightly to what makes the game work, Gran Turismo can’t be knocked.

Where it does falter, however, is just how painfully generic the rest of the film is. Following in the infamous footsteps of a million other video game adaptations, when it comes to bulking out the plot, narrative, and characters, Gran Turismo comes up well short.

Hindered by frankly awful dialogue and an opening act that has all the warmth of a marketing showreel, outside the action, Gran Turismo feels more like a poorly written advert than an actual feature film. While of course every movie based on a computer game is essentially an extended piece of marketing, there are moments when Gran Turismo takes it all a little too far.

Honestly, when one of your main characters - in this case Orlando Bloom’s slime-ball exec - proclaims that “this whole thing is a marketing extravaganza” without any hint of irony, it’s difficult to ignore just how blatantly corporate the entire thing is.

Cut together and positioned like an advert, the film’s first half an hour is a tricky watch, as Sony and Nissan combine forces to pummel us with an unrelenting sales pitch. Granted, the competition aspects of the plot are engrossing and really come into their own as things go on, however, the sheer commercial nature of the setup makes it feel cold at times.

The relentless corporate back-patting of Gran Turismo’s opening act hampers both the characters and their dialogue as they insist on giving us the hard sell without remorse. It’s a brand of product-centric circle jerking that has really come to the fore in recent times and feels in line with the likes of Air, Tetris, Blackberry, and even Flamin’ Hot Cheetos in the sheer self-congratulatory hutzpah Gran Turismo radiates for its own brand.

Despite the overwhelmingly commercial feel of the film, Gran Turismo’s real saving grace is just how intriguing and inherently gripping the true story behind it is. While it remains highly predictable and ticks almost every against-the-odds sports movie cliché going, Gran Turismo’s plot is so wild it’s easy to get swept up in it.

For the uninitiated, the film’s story is a genuine one of a mixed-race, working-class teenager from Cardiff whose skills as a ‘Gran Turismo’ master see him elevated from bedroom sim racer to the very elite, very rich, very white world of professional racing. That, despite the overtly commercial nature of the movie, is one hell of a story and Gran Turismo does a solid job telling it.

Overripe and ropey though the writing may be, the film does well to alleviate these issues, effectively and efficiently whisking us through Jann Mardenborough’s rocky journey from PlayStation to Pit. Led well by young Archie Madekwe and supported excellently by standout David Harbour as the classic grumpy coach with a heart, the film captures the inherently inspirational nature of the true story, overcoming its marketing gloss and scripting issues to offer something truly rousing.

Leaning in heavily on the tropes that have got so many underdog films through over the years, Gran Turismo is about as predictable as they come, yet, formulaic though it may be, Neill Blomkamp does a fine job with it all. At their best, these against-the-odds tales work despite their predictability, and when Gran Turismo really gets up to speed, it really goes.

Part video game movie, part against-the-odds sports tale, part two-hour commercial, Gran Turismo finds itself hindered by predictability and a cold, calculating corporate energy, yet when it hits top speed it’s hard not to root for. With Neill Blomkamp’s smart, kinetic direction and an inherently inspiring story, Gran Turismo atones for its poor writing and by-the-numbers plot to offer an undeniably thrilling ride that edges over the line for a podium finish.

Gran Turismo is in UK cinemas now and in US cinemas on the 25th August.