Gran Torino (2008)

I've been on a real Clint Eastwood high ever since watching his "Man with No Name" movies. As soon as I heard about this movie from Puneet, I knew I had to see it. In Gran Torino, Clint Eastwood plays an old man who lives alone after the passing of his wife. He has a disrespectful greedy family, new neighbors moving in he hates, and a local Hmong gang harassing everyone on the street. Can't a guy just sit on the porch with his dog and enjoy a few beers without been bothered? My thoughts on this movie can be found after the jump.


Being a veteran of the Korean War, Walt is none too happy with the new Hmong neighbors moving in. His ingrained racism keeps him from making any initial connections with them, but when the gang attacks the neighbor's son and the fight breaks out onto his yard, he intervenes the only way he knows how. By being a badass! By doing this he does more than defend his grass, but becomes a bit of a hero on the street for saving their son. This begins his journey to make up for his past actions and come to terms with his misconceptions about the Hmong people.

Clint Eastwood was of course fantastic here. He uses his age to his advantage in this 2008 film and pulls off the role naturally. His mistrust, hatred, and gruffness are all very believably and he certainly doesn't come off as a likable character in the beginning. However as he gets to know the neighboring family and the people around the street, I found myself quickly warming up to him as he grows and learns the errors of his misconceptions. It was great to see this grouchy racist old codger change his ways and not only befriend, but become a role model to the son and the people around him. It was truly heartwarming.

Walt protects his neighbors from the gang

Of course that local gang never really goes away, and they become a real problem later in the film. This of course give Clint a chance to put his badassery back to work. There's a long slow build up to the conclusion of the film that I really liked. The movie also plays on the assumption that you've seen previous Clint Eastwood movies, a few of which I've luckily seen recently. Without spoiling anything, the events in the later half of the movie are powerful and emotionally charged.

Overall this movie was fantastic. If I had to criticize anything it would be a few moments of lower quality acting on the part of the teenage boy in the film, and perhaps the odd choice of music for the credits. Otherwise I really enjoyed it and found myself moved several times by the story and characters. Highly recommended!