Clint's best performance since Million Dollar Baby

Rating: 9/10 (22 March 2009)

I saw Gran Torino opening weekend and after hearing rave reviews, I was looking forward to it. After seeing it, I realized what people were excited about, it was Clint's performance, this is a man you do not want to mess with. He's the perfect good guy with a bad guy's lust for vengeance. I love his growls, he sounds like a great guard dog, I would love to just have him by my door if a salesman comes by to make that noise. I can't believe what a triple threat Clint is: he's a writer, director, and an actor, not to mention that he's great at all three of them. He presents Gran Torino with grace and style of an old man that society has forgotten about because of his bad mood not realizing that deep down, he's truly a good man.
Walt Kowalski, a retired Polish American Ford automobile assembly line worker and a Korean War veteran, lives with his dog Daisy in a changing neighborhood which is dominated by immigrants. At the start of the movie, Walt is attending his wife's funeral, bristling at the shallow eulogy of young Father Janovich. Similarly, he has little patience with his two sons, Mitch and Steve, and their families, who show little regard for Walt's grief or the memory of their dead mother. Walt's sons see him as "always disappointed" with them and their families, unaware of their obnoxiousness. Walt's teenage Hmong neighbors, a shy Thao Vang Lor and his feisty sister Sue, live with their widowed mother and grandmother. The Hmong gang, at that point, tries to persuade Thao to join them. Thao's initiation is to steal Walt's prized car, a 1972 Gran Torino Sport. Walt interrupts the robbery, pointing a rifle in Thao's face and forcing him to flee. After a few days, Spider and his gang return. With Sue at his side, Thao manages to verbally confront them to no avail. The gang drags Thao off his porch in an attempt to assault him. His family tries desperately to fend off Spider and his cohorts. The conflict ends when Walt, who fought in the United States Army's 1st Cavalry Division, threatens the gang members with his M1 Garand rifle and orders them to get off his lawn. They leave the neighborhood, telling Walt to watch his back.
After seeing Sue being harassed by three black teenagers, while her "date" cannot help her, Walt steps in to rescue her, confronting the teenagers and threatening them with a pistol. Sue gets to know Walt, and invites him to a family barbecue on his birthday, bringing him closer to her family, explaining Hmong culture and that during the Vietnam War they fought on "his" side. Sue, Thao, and their mother visit Walt the next day, with Thao's family forcing him to work for Walt for a week to atone for his attempted theft of the Gran Torino. Walt has Thao clean up the neighborhood until his debt is paid and shows Thao the ways of American men. Meanwhile, the Hmong gang keeps pressuring Thao to join them. But when he refuses, the Hmong gang goes too far in getting their revenge leading to Walt wanting more than punishment, he wants justice.
I highly recommend Gran Torino if you get the chance to see it, it has terrific performances and a touching story. I'm really surprised that Clint didn't get more recognition for his strength in Walt, he became that character and I loved how he protected the family that he once hated. It was wonderful to see all these characters develop and grow together, they had great chemistry and made this movie into a great one. I think down the line, Gran Torino is going to be considered a classic, this is a terrific movie and deserves it's praise.
9/10