Movies: Gran Torino

Clint Eastwood, by this point, has become almost a character in and of himself. Forever associated with his most iconic roles - the Man with No Name, Dirty Harry - he has an unmatched screen presence which he uses to full effect in "Gran Torino":



Walt Kowalski is a retired widower and Korean War vet who finds himself in a world that's almost entirely different from the '50s Detroit where he raised his kids. Hmong immigrants are moving in next to him, gangs roam the streets of his once-peaceful neighborhood, and even his own son is trying to get him into a nursing home. It's a role made for Eastwood, allowing him to indulge in swaggering menace one minute and quiet solitude the next.

The other actors (particularly Bee Vang, who plays Thao) are inexperienced and have a tough time following Eastwood's tonal shifts. "Gran Torino" has plenty of Serious Drama going on, but interspersed throughout are moments of comedy and playfulness. Remember, the same guy who gave inspired tough guy performances in "Dirty Harry" and "Unforgiven" also hung out with an orangutan in "Every Which Way But Loose."

Where the film really earns its stripes is in the ending, which shows that Eastwood the Director knows how to milk Eastwood the Actor's star power for everything it's worth. By reputation alone, you know there's going to be some heads rolling at the end, but the way it all goes down may surprise you. In that way, "Gran Torino" is sort of a fitting conclusion to all the improbable cinematic bloodshed Eastwood's characters have wrought over the decades.

Rating: 8/10

P.S. For gun buffs, there are some fun parts in the movie. Walt's M1 Garand and M1911 are featured prominently, and most will agree that these two old warhorses do the job just as well as anything made today - just like Walt.