"‘I've been called a lot of things, but never funny.’"
THE CAST:
Clint Eastwood is the obvious star of this film and pretty much carries the rest of the cast. I did not particularly think this was Clint's best performance when compared to a few of his earlier films; Million Dollar Baby, Unforgiven and Pale Rider to name a few, but he does out perform all of the other actors. This was Bee Vang's and Ahney Her's first film and to me it was very apparent. They did not necessarily do a horrible job, but it would be a stretch to say they were good. Maybe with more experience they will become better actors but hopefully they are not relying on their performance here to catapult their careers into the main stream. Christopher Carley was the other major player in Gran Torino and he did a convincing job as Father Janovich, but again was overshadowed by Eastwood.
DIRECTION, CINEMATOGRAPHY AND SPECIAL EFFECTS:
Gran Torino is nicely filmed but was not spectacular or exciting. The few special effects were done well but like the photography nothing out of the ordinary for a recent film.
As far as direction, Clint Eastwood proves once again why he is an Oscar winning director.
THE GOOD:
The best thing about this film is that Clint Eastwood is in it and he directed it. Otherwise I feel it would have failed miserably. Even though the main character is a crotchety, bigoted, racist, you automatically like him and enjoy all of his remarks because it is Eastwood. It did have some great scenes like the one when his son and wife talk to him about retirement homes and when his granddaughter asks him about his Torino and these made up for the strained ones.
THE BAD:
This film did not take advantage of its full potential. The characters were too stereotypical and did not leave room for any variance thus coming off as less believable. Then there are the gang members who are not intimidating enough in the first half of the movie.
THE STORY (may contain spoilers):
Walt Kowalski (Eastwood) is a grumpy recently widowed very prejudice old man who speaks his mind no matter who he offends. His family does not understand him and only spend time with him whenever absolutely necessary. He has neighbors who are of Hmong descent and they realize exactly how he feels about them. Soon after his wife passes one of his neighbors, Thao (Walt refers to him as Toad) tries to steal his pride and joy, a 1972 Gran Torino in perfect condition. Evidently Thao's gang member cousin wants him to be a part of the gang and stealing the car was his initiation. Walt catches him trying to steal the car but does not understand at first why he was trying to do so. A couple days later Thao's cousin tries to force him to come with him and his friends initiate him in the gang via another way. Walt intervenes and becomes the 'hero' of the local Hmong people. Later Thao's mother makes an arrangement for Thao to work for Walt. This is to pay off his debt for attempting to steal his car thus giving honor back to the family. Eventually Walt begins to care for the kid and decides to reform him and make him a 'man'. But then the gang retaliates and Kowalski realizes they are looking to him to correct the situation.
SPECIAL FEATURES: Widescreen DVD
Manning the Wheel: the meaning of manhood as reflected by the american car culture
Gran Torino: More Than a Car: visit Detroit and the woodward dream cruise, an annual vintage car event where buffs describe the unique bond between men and vehicles
REPLAY VALUE:
Average replay value for Gran Torino, it is entertaining more than once and a good DVD to get out every once and a while, but not one you can watch over and over.
BOTTOM LINE:
I know there is a lot of love for this film and many are of the opinion it is a five star feature, but no matter how much I tried I just could not quite get there. I do recommend Gran Torino and feel it is worth the purchase price, however personally for me it only rates four stars.
Thanks for reading.
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