Gran Torino

Gran Torino - They don't make them like they used to....

Mr. Eastwood has a knack for storytelling. Instead of being preachy or having an all to obvious agenda, he lets his viewers make up their own minds. His characters don't have a message, they have a life and make no excuses for who they are. In so many subtle and intelligent ways we are allowed to make our own choices. Like with Kowalski in the movie, you are not confronted with a role model hammering home all those "life's important messages", but rather with a movie saying "Look! This is the way it worked out for me. And I think I know a few tricks that might help you, but in the end it's your own life. However, you have to trust me when I say that there are a some things you don't want to see or experience!". Some people will leave this movie entirely untouched, others will certainly be crying their guts out. Not because some people "get it" and others "don't", but because it is a brilliant piece of entertainment reaching out to every viewer in its own specific way.

Eastwood's acting is top notch again, although the years have not been very kind to his voice. The rest of the cast are fine, but one can certainly spot their more amateurish backgrounds here and there which is the main reason why I could not give this one a 10/10.

Apart from that there is little to criticize. It's not an action movie, not a drama movie and certainly not a comedy (even though you get a few laughs out of this one). It's simply a good story about life.....and death.

After his wife dies, Korean Water veteran Walt Kowalski busies his life with small household jobs and snarling at his family, until his young neighbour tries to steal his car.

It's a film you really do need to be in the mood for, as it is an intense watch, and could definitely be seen as heavy going. What I've always enjoyed about it, the touches of humour that pop up every now and then, I also think the film is very relatable.

What stands out, is the superb direction, the powerful storyline, and the performance of the leading man.

I think Clint Eastwood does a really fine job as Walt, he really is a tormented soul, you really do feel as though he's a man on the edge, totally disillusioned by life and everything around him, I'd seen it a great performance. I think Bee Vang is great as Thao too.

When I first saw it, and still to this day, his spitting really does gross me out, although it fits the character, designed to make us feel strongly about him perhaps.

8/10.

A very touching film that brings out a different but still great side of Clint Eastwood.

If Clint Eastwood had retired after Gran Torino, it might have been one of the most perfect endings to an iconic actor's career. Walt Kowalski is like Harry Callahan or number of Eastwood characters from his past only, like the vessel they're protrayed through, older. He's the crusty, cynical tough-guy who deep inside is a bit softer and has a warmer than you'd expect heart. Which is the truth we see revealed in Kowalski over the course of this movie as he befriends and helps the Hmong kid next door. There might be enough of these movies to constitute an entire subgenre of friendship films: one involving an older guy who learns a little about life while teaching a boy to be a man. It's a friendship story and even what you'd call a feel-good one despite the violence and negativity surrounding it. The film aims for authenticity though I think bits of it will be seen by posterity as dated, false hollywood depictions.

Maybe the later movies kept him busy but this is where Eastwood's career as an actor should have (and in a sense did) end.

With his performance Eastwood shows you why people like himself, Jack Nicholson, or Paul Newman only come around once in a lifetime. Though Eastwood would rather focus on directing, he can still carry a movie with his on screen presence, and he's pure dynamite in "Gran Torino". Perhaps the poor box office results of "hollywoody" movies like Absolute Power, True Crime, Space Cowboys, and Blood Work, caused Eastwood to shy away from acting, but given cutting edge material to work with as "Million Dollar Baby" and "Gran Torino", he's as good as ever. His character as the racist and salty war vet makes you think of that old guy we've all had on our blocks with the garbage door open, the million tools hanging everywhere, and always fixing or building something. I found myself not wanting the movie to end because the scenes between himself and the various Hmong characters where priceless. There may be complaints over the racist remarks and scenes, but Eastwood pulls it off in a way a real person like that would talk or act to a point where it ends up being lighthearted. I'm not going to give the plot away, but if you like your Clint Eastwood as a hard-nosed tough guy with foul language alla Dirty Harry or Heartbreak Ridge, you'll love this movie!!