Gran Turismo * * *

 This is a true story apparently.

Gran Turismo is a computer game offering such a level of reality that if you drive around  one of the racing circuits it offers, you have virtually driven around it.  Same distance, same tightness of corners, same obstacles.  The "car" you are driving, is precise in its speed and ability.  People who are into it say it's not a game, it's a simulation.  

You mean, Re-boot won't fix a crash?!

A racing team manager was so convinced that this might be true he persuaded Nissan Racing to sponsor a global Gran Turismo competition.  The top ten players would then be given an opportunity to try their skills on the real thing by driving a Nissan GT-R - the same car Nissan use in racing.

Despite some inevitable mocking from the engineers the ten computer game winners actually perform quite well and find that many of their skills do actually transfer to reality. But many don't as they face a new reality, like dealing with G-force, heat, sweat, knowing if you crash you will be really hurt, or die.  Stuff you will never experience sitting in front of a computer screen. Soon they are falling apart.  

The winner from the ten players will get to take it to the next level.  He will be allowed to race for real.  

Jann Mardenborough wins and Gran Turismo becomes a "how bad do you want it, kid" film, with him constantly fighting his discouraging father, his hard-bitten condescending team manager, and the other drivers - who hate him!  

A pretty new girl he has recently met loves him though, so that's something. (Got to have a lurrrv interest). Actually his manager loves him too after a while, "You're my boy"

Using very impressive graphics we see how Jann's mind is working as a driver and how he gets into the space he was in when playing electronic games.  It's pretty exciting at times with some very good race scenes.  

The rest is a bit formulaic and simplistic, but fun to watch.