A Disappointing Chick Flick For Grumpy Old Men

Rating: 6/10 (21 December 2014)

This was on my to watch list for a while . Six years to be precise . How on Earth I never got round to seeing it I've no idea . It's highly regarded by my peers on this website and it's by Eastwood who if nothing else is an inspiration in the way he constantly churns out movies without pausing for breath . He might not be on a par with Scorsese or Aronofsky but he's definitely not some third rate journeyman hack director who thinks he's doing an MTV ident while over dosing on cocaine which seems to be the in house Hollywood directorial style these days . That said despite the praise it has received GRAN TORINO is a disappointment
The problem is that the narrative is an all too obvious redemption plot . Eastwood plays Ebeneezer Scoorge / Victor Meldrew with a dollop of bitter and twisted racist overtones thrown in to the uneasy mix . When he's referring to ethnic minorities in general and Orientals in particular with nasty racist names I kept expecting him to scream " I don't believe it " . As soon as he gets friendly with his Asiatic neighbours you understand where the story is going and there's little in the way or surprises . The tone is often a problem . The foul mouthed and racist tirades totally jar with the schmaltzt and manipulative plotting . Ask yourself if it didn't star Eastwood and didn't contain strong language would you not expect this to be a production from the Hallmark Channel ? That said it does the intelligent point if you want to survive in the American ghetto then running with the pack is probably the only option and Eastwood is always good value but I expected more considering the high praise this movie received on its release