Interesting enough if you look past the stereo-types

Rating: 8/10 (8 January 2009)

This is another movie where we see the lighter side of Eastwood. You wouldn't think so at first glance as his character is portrayed as a hard curmudgeon who's angry at everyone and himself.
Your initial thoughts probably are, why is he so angry? He hates his adult children, he hates their wives, he hates the grand children, he hates import cars and he especially hates his Asian neighbors.
As the story progresses, Eastwood gets to know the neighbors and even makes a statement that goes something along the lines of "I have more in common with them than my family."
Life, love, exploration, death, it's all in the story.
You see Eastwood go from a crotchety old man without purpose to a crotchety old man with a purpose. Yes, I realize that's says very little but you have to see the movie to understand what I mean. His character doesn't really soften by movie's end but he changes himself and those around him for the better.
The story dragged at times but that was probably due to my expectations from the previews and trailers. I went in with the mindset of "Charles Bronson, vigilante action" for which the story was not. Yes there are guns, shootings and violence but they are not a major part of the movie.
Some may be offended by the stereo-typical portrayal of some races. Unfortunately, large metropolitan city do have gangs as shown in the movie. They probably aren't as over-the-top in their behavior though.