Movie review
August 9, 2023 · 135 min · PG-13
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Gran Turismo tells the true story of Jann Mardenborough, a teenager from Wales who masters the Gran Turismo racing video game and earns a spot in a real-world driver program run by Nissan. He trains hard, faces doubts from his father and racing veterans, and deals with the dangers of actual competition including a serious crash. The movie sticks to classic underdog themes of skill, practice, and personal growth in a sports setting with no prominent identity-focused messaging or activist framing in the story, dialogue, or marketing.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Gran Turismo.
Woke representation / casting
Casting accurately reflects the real mixed-race background of Jann Mardenborough and his family without added emphasis, signaling, or quota-style framing. The story treats background as biographical detail rather than a central or highlighted theme.
Woke political dialogue
Dialogue stays on personal drive, training discipline, family expectations, and the gap between gaming skill and real racing risk. No activist speeches, identity arguments, or social-justice language appear in major scenes.
Identity-driven story themes
The plot follows individual talent, hard practice, and overcoming doubt in a merit-based motorsport world, with working-class gamer roots and father-son friction as classic sports drama elements. These stay focused on personal achievement rather than group identity or grievance structures.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Traditional racing figures initially doubt simulator-trained drivers, shown as a practical experience issue rather than systemic bias tied to identity or culture. No framing of toxic masculinity, patriarchy, family norms, or broader Western institutions in activist terms.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. Changes from the true story involve standard dramatization for pacing and emotion, including adjustments around a real crash incident. These are storytelling decisions without ideological or identity-driven alterations to people or events.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
No significant public or media complaints accused the film of advancing woke, DEI, or identity-politics content. Reactions stayed on entertainment quality, game ties, and dramatic choices around real events.
Creator track record context
Director Neill Blomkamp has earlier films with social commentary on segregation and inequality rooted in South African history, though this movie avoids such layering. Key producers show business-focused records with minimal political patterns, and co-writer Jason Hall's American Sniper work centers on individual military experience without activist framing.
Production
