Gran Torino

While in Million Dollar Baby, Clint Eastwood never left the boxing ring, here he never leaves his own front porch. Gran Torino is even more intimate than his recent boxing opus and delivers an even harder knockout blow to the audience. Eastwood portrays one of his most interesting characters in an incredibly smoothly flowing movie – the easy-to-follow setting of the simple story emphasizes the seamless continuity of individual scenes composing an intriguing character study of Eastwood’s Kowalski. Everything in this movie has its place and meaning, including a brief lawn-mowing shot. Not to mention the song in the end credits... (16/02/2009)

This really swept me away. The entire film flows with the same melancholic mood, regardless of whether they are exchanging bullets or sarcastic wisecracks. Gran Torino drives straight to a clear ending, but that’s one of its strengths. Really, a surprising twist wouldn’t be fitting, everything ends the way it should. And the end credits have a wonderful song with a powerful effect that multiplies the emotions of the film as a whole. For me, one of the year’s best films. (27/12/2008)

Clint Eastwood really knows what he's doing and with this film he surpasses even his previous hits. Gran Torino immediately catches the eye with its fantastic and interesting portrayal of each character, but what’s worth watching above all is the gradual mental transformation and inner struggle of Clint himself, who was given an extremely illegible role by the script and, together with the convincing Christopher Carley, created one of the most perfect cinematic duos I've ever seen. Despite a premise that smacks of boredom, the film moves along at a high pace, is really well directed and emotional, and the incredibly human expression of friendship and belonging that slowly but surely rises to the surface won't let you skip a beat. And the ending?!... That one really got me. (08/06/2011)

I have a reserved attitude toward guaranteed blockbusters that the film community considers serious contenders for the best film of the year. I usually prefer films outside the mainstream and am often enthused by a true film outsider. However, in the case of Gran Torino, I have to admit that it is a very decent melodrama, where Clint Eastwood has capitalized on his extensive experience in directing and acting. It's not that the old good Clint is such a great director, but he is rather a very high-quality and reliable craftsman who knows his limits well and steers his film into waters where he feels at home. His character is actually a direct continuation of his most popular protagonists, i.e., the headhunters from old Sergio Leone westerns and, above all, the tough inspector Harry Callahan. Add 40 years to Callahan and you have the grumpy retiree and devotee of true American values, Walt Kowalski. The plot is predictable for most of the runtime and its message is clear to any slightly experienced viewer after a few minutes, but Eastwood manages to enrich his film with a series of pleasant, audience-friendly scenes, such as the initiation of an Asian teenager into the language of real men or amusing multi-ethnic clashes between the grumpy American and his Asian neighbors. Where the director maintains a tragicomic tone, his story and performance are believable and highly sympathetic. However, when elements of a fateful drama and self-sacrifice creep in, the film teeters on the edge of self-parody - for example, the moment when the nearly 80-year-old man with cancer-ridden lungs knocks down a member of a criminal gang three generations younger. Generally, Clint Eastwood's films and his characters are indeed the perfect essences of the purest American values, and his films should be obligatory screenings at Republican Party conventions. They include firearms, a tough cowboy attitude, outspoken patriotism, and social conservatism. However, if the director can lighten and complement them with, for instance, a parody of political correctness, when he and his old friend from the barbershop make subtle jokes about their nationalities, it is not only digestible but also good. Overall impression: 80%. (27/04/2009)

After several times, it really doesn't work anymore. Eastwood dusts off his proven plot concept, which remains completely identical with minor modifications. Only this time, instead of an emancipated boxer, he threw in an old good-hearted grump. The melancholic music, minimalist direction, and emotionally packed moments are there, including the interesting finale. I didn’t pay much attention to the several storylines running alongside the main plot. Eastwood is capable, but instead of taking turns in an effective loop he knows what to do, he just drives straight ahead like a heavyweight truck. Some people are pulled along with him, some manage to avoid him, but having three attempts to escape is a somewhat bigger luxury than would be appropriate. (09/05/2009)