The acting legacy that Clint Eastwood leaves behind is one of his best.

Rating: 9/10 (4 April 2009)

Where to start on Gran Torino, this is probably one the best movies I've seen of 2008.
This is one of the few movies that I like in which the main character carries to near greatness. Clint Eastwoods mere presence in any movie signifies its superiority as far as quality acting and directing. It was all "Kowalski" in this fine film. He plays his white American bigotry role and hits hit the nail on the head. He is naturally a bit conservative in his tough guy roles but in his portrayal as "Kowalski", he pushes it to near controversy. (He does tend to hold back on certain dialog for politically correct reasons). But what Clint Eastwoods biggest strength is that he displays a sense of self conflict throughout his story. He shows a psychological deep and rich emotional character that everyone will love.
He emanates toughness and intimidation without ever firing a bullet in Gran Torino, and it came from practice when he was Dirty Harry and when he was in all those Tough Guy westerns. He shows a warm but tough fatherly/grandfatherly persona towards his Hmong neighbors with strict sense of morals and impenetrable pride. Under his direction, Clint Eastwood does his best to make his supporting cast shine with decent performances, though it is hard to outshine the master. Even in the end, after his demise, he ensured the spirit of Kowalski lived on. Not many characters in any movie can actually do that.
I am not ashamed to jump on the bandwagon and say that this is a great movie. I recommend it. One of the best movies of the year.