Gran Torino

Growing up, when I thought of Clint Eastwood, I thought of a bad-ass. Like Charles Bronson. Or Chuck Norris. A real tough guy. There was Dirty Harry and Blondie and Josey Wales.

Now Clint Eastwood is old. 79 years old. And he mostly directs movies. When I saw that he was starring in Gran Torino I got excited. Not only because he was going to be in a new movie, but because my family also owned a Ford Gran Torino. We didn't own a 2-door fast back coupe like his, nor did we own a red one with a racing stripe like Starsky and Hutch. We had a '74 4-door with a black vinyl top with a root beer-colored paint job. But it was still cool to us.

In Gran Torino Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski, a recent widower, who has lived in his Detroit home for several decades and watched the once-thriving working class neighborhood slowly deteriorate into a mixed ethnic bad neighborhood. A Korean War veteran, Walt doesn't like Asians, nor too many other people. And he's not afraid to tell anyone what he thinks of them.

The situation gets uncomfortable when his teenage Hmong neighbor is caught trying to steal his Torino. However, a couple days later Walt finds himself standing up to gang members trying to intimidate his neighbors. For his actions he his showered with accolades, foods, and flowers from the very people he despises.

Though wanting to be left alone, Walt finds himself endeared to his young neighbors when they show that they are not intimidated by his flippant bigotry.

Additionally, the young Father Janovich, who performed the eulogy for his recently passed wife, keeps showing up at Walt's door explaining the promise he made to Walt's wife to look over him. Despite Walt's stubborn rejections of the Father's friendly gestures, Janovich remains unrelenting in his quest to fulfill his late wife's wish - to get Walt to come to confession.

Tensions culminate when the gang members decide to stand up to Walt and drive him out of the neighborhood.

Gran Torino is a great movie and shows tough-guy Eastwood as we would have pictured him to be 20 years ago. In addition to liking his character, I could also relate to his determination to stop the urban decay in his neighborhood and stand up for what is right.

Gran Torino is rated R for violence and tons and tons of bigotry and language throughout the entire movie.

I highly recommend this movie and give it 5 stars, my highest rating.