This movie proves what a wonderful actor Eastwood is.

Rating: 10/10 (23 May 2016)

People raved about this movie, but for a long time I had never seen it. Judging by the title I thought it was a movie about a race car contest and wasn't interested. I read the full synopsis eventually though and finally gave the movie a watch.
And wow, it was fantastic. The script is an intelligent commentary about generational and cultural differences, and the dialogue is some of the most quotable I've ever heard. The directing is subtle, but essentially very effective, and helps strengthen the power of the story. I love the score by Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens, which far too often goes unmentioned. The plot revolves around a man (played by Clint) who is very bitter and mostly just keeps to himself. His grand kids are selfish and uncaring, not to mention he went through a horrible war. Hell, his granddaughter literally just waits for him to die so she can inherit the car, a Gran Torino. But when the Hmongs move in next door, his life starts to change...
Seeing Walt Kowalski rant about all kinds of things and talk with people in the most disjointed of ways is not only incredibly entertaining, but also makes for an eminent character study. We might not side with him at first, but as the movie goes on and we learn more about him, he becomes easier to root for thanks to Eastwood's three- dimensional performance. His friendship with Sue is great, and don't you just love it when he mouths off to the street gang by blurting out "What are you spooks up to?". Comedy is something this movie does well too, and it definitely shows through Walt's golden platinum one-liners. I could mention my favorites all day.
The one thing holding this back from a full 10 is one of the actors. I mean, not all of them are great, but I really like Ahney Her and Bee Vang is not as bad as people say. But Christopher Carley on the other hand (who played Father Janovich) was just godawful. That guy should never have made it into the movie. Even a tomato could act more believably than him. So due to Carley's acting, the movie dropped to a 9.5/10. Don't let that stop you though.
You see a little bit of Dirty Harry here, but you also see a shattered, lonely old man in a growing world. Clint has still got it!