IBMovies

Release date: 2008-12-12

Rating: 7.988

Votes: 11324

Genres: Drama

Disgruntled Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski sets out to reform his neighbor, Thao Lor, a Hmong teenager who tried to steal Kowalski's prized possession: a 1972 Gran Torino.

Reviews

r96sk

There's a lot to unpack about <em>'Gran Torino'</em>, probably way more than I could offer an opinion on. I fully acknowledge the talk about this film's potential impact on the world, namely for Hmong Americans (see: Bee Vang's <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/covid-19-era-s-anti-asian-racism-isn-t-new-ncna1258184" rel="nofollow">op-ed</a>), and I'm not saying it's perfect one bit. I admittedly do have a difficult time separating film and real life, to me films are just fictional things but I get they can/do have real world implications. Strictly as a film, it is entertaining. Clint Eastwood is remarkably good at being a super racist and super grumpy old man, who literally hates every single person he encounters across the opening portion of the film. His character's lines in this are nuts and his delivery with them is incredible - the look of utter disgust on Walt Kowalski's face when someone pisses him off in a new way is just amusing to watch. If not for his on point delivery, it wouldn't have worked. Eastwood is the only actor in this worth talking about on a grander level, though I could've done without his ropey singing at the end, but I did enjoy the showings of the earlier mentioned Vang, Ahney Her and John Carroll Lynch - not that the latter does much, I just like the guy as an actor... all stems from <em>'<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Walking_Dead_(TV_series)" rel="nofollow">The Walking Dead</a>'</em>, he's in literally one episode back in 2015 and yet I always remember his character. I'm not sold on the ending, Walt isn't exactly redeemed and it does reek of white saviour let's be real, but it didn't affect my enjoyment in film terms to be honest.

Matthew Smith

Clint Eastwood is a good director. I've seen ten of his films, one of them being “Play Misty for Me.” A film that I think is incredible. But like any director, Clint’s films can vary in quality. In the case of “Gran Torino,” it's a good film, but probably not one I'm going to rewatch very much. Clint Eastwood and Bee Vang put in great performances. Walt, played by Clint Eastwood, is a tough character to watch. His prejudices are the main reason for that. This is my view of the character, of course, so how you feel about him depends on your views. I think the ending of the film works. It's a decent end to Walt's character journey.

CinemaSerf

It's curious that the main English language awards largely ignored this, yet it won both a David and a César in Europe and is definately one of Clint Eastwood's more characterful efforts. He is the curmudgeonly "Walt" who has recently lost his wife, has an arms-length relationship with his son and looks disapprovingly as his neighbourhood ceases to be the home of "Americans"! His prize possession is his Gran Tornino car and he doesn't take to kindly to Bee Vang's "Thao" (or "Toad") trying to pinch it. Quickly, though, he sees that this young man and his sister "Sue" (Ahney Her) are being bullied by their thuggish extended family - a gang of obnoxious would-be gangsters who drive the streets picking fights and taunting people. He decides to intervene and the rest of the story sees a bond develop between him and his new "family" based on a degree of mutual understanding, trust, and "Toad" becoming his slave for a fortnight by way of penance! We are given some clues along the way as to the grand designs of "Walt" as he sets up a denouement, after a brutal assault on "Sue", that will satisfy not just himself, but keep his neighbours safe too. It's not the most naturally written dialogue, indeed at times it's quite forced but the underlying premiss of bigotry and the attitudes of intolerance and bullying are well addressed. The characterisation of the distant and prejudiced "Walt" is delivered engagingly, and with some dark humour, by a star/director who has a point to make. There's also quite a gently potent effort from Christopher Carley as the local priest. He is trying to offer the perfunctory words of hope and comfort to this veteran and he perseveres despite the dog's abuse he receives from a man who no longer feels it necessary to commit to the niceties of society. Clearly, "Walt" cares little for what is left of his life nor for any of his sins to be forgiven. It's about grief, relevance, community and I think it works. Give it a go.

Movie Recommendation

Million Dollar Baby
2004-12-05
Despondent over a painful estrangement from his daughter, trainer Frankie Dunn isn't prepared for boxer Maggie Fitzgerald to enter his life. But Maggie's determined to go pro and to convince Dunn and his cohort to help her.
More...
The Transporter
2002-10-02
Former Special Forces officer Frank Martin will deliver anything to anyone for the right price, and his no-questions-asked policy puts him in high demand. But when he realizes his latest cargo is alive, it sets in motion a dangerous chain of events. The bound and gagged Lai is being smuggled to France by a shady American businessman, and Frank works to save her as his own illegal activities are uncovered by a French detective.
More...
The Mule
2018-12-14
Earl Stone, a man in his eighties, is broke, alone, and facing foreclosure of his business when he is offered a job that simply requires him to drive. Easy enough, but, unbeknownst to Earl, he's just signed on as a drug courier for a Mexican cartel. He does so well that his cargo increases exponentially, and Earl hit the radar of hard-charging DEA agent Colin Bates.
More...
American Sniper
2014-12-25
U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle takes his sole mission—protect his comrades—to heart and becomes one of the most lethal snipers in American history. His pinpoint accuracy not only saves countless lives but also makes him a prime target of insurgents. Despite grave danger and his struggle to be a good husband and father to his family back in the States, Kyle serves four tours of duty in Iraq. However, when he finally returns home, he finds that he cannot leave the war behind.
More...
Mystic River
2003-10-08
The lives of three men who were childhood friends are shattered when one of them suffers a family tragedy.
More...
Changeling
2008-10-24
Los Angeles, 1928. When single mother Christine Collins leaves for work, her son vanishes without a trace. Five months later, the police reunite mother and son. But when Christine suspects that the boy returned to her isn't her child, her quest for truth exposes a world of corruption.
More...
Slumdog Millionaire
2008-11-12
A teenager reflects on his life after being accused of cheating on the Indian version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?".
More...
Invictus
2009-12-11
Newly elected President Nelson Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa's rugby union team as they make their historic run to the 1995 Rugby World Cup Championship match.
More...
Kill Bill: Vol. 1
2003-10-10
An assassin is shot by her ruthless employer, Bill, and other members of their assassination circle – but she lives to plot her vengeance.
More...
Unforgiven
1992-08-07
William Munny is a retired, once-ruthless killer turned gentle widower and hog farmer. To help support his two motherless children, he accepts one last bounty-hunter mission to find the men who brutalized a prostitute. Joined by his former partner and a cocky greenhorn, he takes on a corrupt sheriff.
More...
Catch Me If You Can
2002-12-16
A true story about Frank Abagnale Jr. who, before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars worth of checks as a Pan Am pilot, doctor, and legal prosecutor. An FBI agent makes it his mission to put him behind bars. But Frank not only eludes capture, he revels in the pursuit.
More...
Full Metal Jacket
1987-06-26
A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the U.S.-Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.
More...
Into the Wild
2007-09-21
After graduating from Emory University in 1992, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity, and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness.
More...
No Country for Old Men
2007-11-09
Llewelyn Moss stumbles upon dead bodies, $2 million and a hoard of heroin in a Texas desert, but methodical killer Anton Chigurh comes looking for it, with local sheriff Ed Tom Bell hot on his trail. The roles of prey and predator blur as the violent pursuit of money and justice collide.
More...
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
2008-12-25
Born under unusual circumstances, Benjamin Button springs into being as an elderly man in a New Orleans nursing home and ages in reverse. Twelve years after his birth, he meets Daisy, a child who flits in and out of his life as she grows up to be a dancer. Though he has all sorts of unusual adventures over the course of his life, it is his relationship with Daisy, and the hope that they will come together at the right time, that drives Benjamin forward.
More...
Hereafter
2010-10-22
Three people — a blue-collar American, a French journalist and a London school boy — are touched by death in different ways.
More...
Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair
2011-03-27
A former assassin—known only as The Bride—wakes up from a coma after her former boss and lover, Bill, shoots her in the head and steals her unborn child during her wedding rehearsal. She soon embarks on a bloody quest for revenge, hunting down her ex-colleagues of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad before confronting Bill himself. Quentin Tarantino’s complete Kill Bill, a combination of Volumes 1 and 2, previously deleted scenes, alternate takes, a full-color remaster of the Crazy 88 fight, a 7-minute anime sequence by Production I.G., and a built-in intermission.
More...
Escape from Alcatraz
1979-06-22
San Francisco Bay, January 18, 1960. Frank Lee Morris is transferred to Alcatraz, a maximum security prison located on a rocky island. Although no one has ever managed to escape from there, Frank and other inmates begin to carefully prepare an escape plan.
More...
American History X
1998-07-01
Derek Vineyard is paroled after serving 3 years in prison for killing two African-American men. Through his brother, Danny Vineyard's narration, we learn that before going to prison, Derek was a skinhead and the leader of a violent white supremacist gang that committed acts of racial crime throughout L.A. and his actions greatly influenced Danny. Reformed and fresh out of prison, Derek severs contact with the gang and becomes determined to keep Danny from going down the same violent path as he did.
More...
Southpaw
2015-03-24
Billy "The Great" Hope, the reigning junior middleweight boxing champion, has an impressive career, a loving wife and daughter, and a lavish lifestyle. However, when tragedy strikes, Billy hits rock bottom, losing his family, his house and his manager. He soon finds an unlikely savior in Tick Willis, a former fighter who trains the city's toughest amateur boxers. With his future on the line, Hope fights to reclaim the trust of those he loves the most.
More...