Fantastic film, but missing some ingredients...

Rating: 8/10 (12 May 2009)

This movie had, in my eyes, the potential to be a classic and in the top 100 films of all time but certain unlucky factors led it in the opposite direction. The old grumpy war veteran is a stereotype we can all relate to and I think no one could have played the part better than Clint. Simple things such as the way he moved and the way he looked at people were priceless. I felt early on that this was a character-changing-film, which is always tough because you constantly have to make the audience believe in the characters development. The contrast between Clint's family and the Chinese family was used in a very convincing way and I especially liked the way Sue was used in Clint's transformation. As mentioned this film could have been a timeless classic but there were things that I didn't like and things I felt missed. First of all there was the acting or failing of the same, led on by Tao, who didn't do a very good job. Also the tall black guy in the gang early on was horrible. But what this film lacked the most, was its failure to keep up the tension between Clint and the gang. Clearly Clint's last act of his life was to confront this group. Perhaps a scene where the Chinese gang threatens Tao on his life so that we, the viewers, understand that there is nothing standing in the way between Clint and the showdown. I rate this film 9 for the many details, the story telling, the compassion for Clint and the development of his character but only 6 for how the action unfolded.