Movie Review: Grand Torino
Vincent Silva
Issue date: 4/23/09 Section: Entertainment
Gran Torino
This is (supposedly) Clint Eastwood's last movie, but Jet Li said the same thing way back when he made "Fearless", and we all know how long that lasted. If it is Eastwood's final entry, though, Gran Torino is a hell of a way to end a career. It isn't epic in any way; the scope is actually very small, but it hits all the right notes.
Clint plays Walt Kowalski, the lovable racist with a heart of gold who, at first, seems to hate everyone, including his own family. As the neighborhood Kowalski lives in becomes populated by immigrants and Asians, his first response is to glare at them and grunt discontentedly. But when a Hmong gang begins to harass his neighbors (especially a young kid named Thao) and then steals his beloved car (the source of the movie's title), Kowalski becomes his neighbors' reluctant protector, despite insisting that he was just trying to "get the gooks off his property."
You can tell that Kowalski isn't truly a racist (most of it is just baggage from his involvement in the Korean War), but he is an asshole. He spends most of his time drinking beer and insulting everyone who crosses his path, which makes for the funniest scenes in the movie.
As the locals start showering him with gifts and affection, he starts to warm up to his neighbors, and it becomes evident that he has more in common with his new neighbors than he does with his own family. Kowalski also starts to mentor Thao in an effort to keep him out of gang life and off the street.
Things start to escalate when Kowalski beats the crap out of the gang members and directly points a rifle at one member, drawling "get off my lawn" in classic Eastwood style. As you'd expect, it all leads up to a showdown in the street. It's an Eastwood flick after all. I can't give away how the film ends, but I'll just say that this character movie rocks the whole way through. What little action exists in the film is all dispersed in short bursts.
Eastwood's acting in this movie is awesome; he makes disgruntled facial expressions to convey how he feels (Kowalski isn't much of a talker). To those who would say that Eastwood only plays himself in films, Gran Torino would probably only help your argument, but I would pay to watch this guy play himself any time.
Enjoy watching Eastwood do what he does best, being a total badass.
Verdict- 9.5/10
This is (supposedly) Clint Eastwood's last movie, but Jet Li said the same thing way back when he made "Fearless", and we all know how long that lasted. If it is Eastwood's final entry, though, Gran Torino is a hell of a way to end a career. It isn't epic in any way; the scope is actually very small, but it hits all the right notes.
Clint plays Walt Kowalski, the lovable racist with a heart of gold who, at first, seems to hate everyone, including his own family. As the neighborhood Kowalski lives in becomes populated by immigrants and Asians, his first response is to glare at them and grunt discontentedly. But when a Hmong gang begins to harass his neighbors (especially a young kid named Thao) and then steals his beloved car (the source of the movie's title), Kowalski becomes his neighbors' reluctant protector, despite insisting that he was just trying to "get the gooks off his property."
You can tell that Kowalski isn't truly a racist (most of it is just baggage from his involvement in the Korean War), but he is an asshole. He spends most of his time drinking beer and insulting everyone who crosses his path, which makes for the funniest scenes in the movie.
As the locals start showering him with gifts and affection, he starts to warm up to his neighbors, and it becomes evident that he has more in common with his new neighbors than he does with his own family. Kowalski also starts to mentor Thao in an effort to keep him out of gang life and off the street.
Things start to escalate when Kowalski beats the crap out of the gang members and directly points a rifle at one member, drawling "get off my lawn" in classic Eastwood style. As you'd expect, it all leads up to a showdown in the street. It's an Eastwood flick after all. I can't give away how the film ends, but I'll just say that this character movie rocks the whole way through. What little action exists in the film is all dispersed in short bursts.
Eastwood's acting in this movie is awesome; he makes disgruntled facial expressions to convey how he feels (Kowalski isn't much of a talker). To those who would say that Eastwood only plays himself in films, Gran Torino would probably only help your argument, but I would pay to watch this guy play himself any time.
Enjoy watching Eastwood do what he does best, being a total badass.
Verdict- 9.5/10
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