Gran Torino

Gran Torino: Clint Eastwood pulls double duty as he stars and directs in this latest feature. Eastwood plays Walt, a recent widower who insists on living in the “old neighborhood” even though the neighborhood is infested with thugs and gangs. His new neighbors are Hmong, an ethnic group originating from Southeast Asia. With Walt being an old Korean War veteran who still looks through the eyes of 1950’s America….this does not make him happy. When Tao, the young man from next store is harassed by neighborhood thugs, Walt steps in to save the day. He does not so much want to save Tao as much as he cannot bear the decline of his neighborhood that he has lived in for so long. However, his neighbors flower Walt with gifts of gratitude for saving their son. This does slowly open Walt up and he finally befriends his new neighbors. What makes this so entertaining is the character Eastwood plays – he is a cross between Dirty Harry and Michael Douglas in Falling Down. He is set in his ways and is not very rational when it comes to solving certain issues. Eastwood also flings racial slurs and one-liners out like nobody’s business. The movie is actually much funnier than I would have ever imagined. On the other hand, I thought the film was a little too formulated. I could tell Clint was buttering us up before the drama in the final act. The story is not all that original, but Clint’s outstanding character makes up for it.

Ry's Rating: B

If This movie had parents they would be: Falling Down & The Karate Kid

With a run time of 112 minutes

This film is rated R