Gran Torino is a Clint Eastwood-directed movie from 2008. I remember seeing this on DVD, shortly after it was released and thinking it was fantastic. I grew up watching Clint Eastwood movies as my dad was a big fan so he has always been an actor I respected. He became a fantastic director too (Million Dollar Baby, American Sniper, Sully, The Mule) and after seeing Gran Torino for the first time since 2008 recently I would not say it is his best, I still think it is a good movie.
How to Download Gran Torino
Gran Torino was released on December 12, 2008. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice.
Movie Review: Gran Torino
After I watched this again recently, I did a little reading about it and saw that some people said it was not exactly all that accurate in regards to the way it portrayed the Hmong community/culture. However, others said that it was. I will admit, that I am ignorant of the Hmong culture so I cannot say one way or the other if I think it was accurate or not, I just took it as the movie presented it.
Main Characters
Our main character is a man called Walt Kowalski who is played by Clint Eastwood. At the time Gran Torino came out, it was a big deal as Clint Eastwood had not been the star in a movie since Million Dollar Baby back in 2004. Another cool casting thing about this is that there is a small role for his son Scott Eastwood who since this has become a fantastic actor in his own right.
Plot Synopsis
Walk Kowalski is a retired Korean War veteran. Walt is recently widowed, he is not in the best of health and he is estranged from his family. He comes across as your typical grouchy old man who wants people to stay off his lawn! To be fair, Walt’s neighborhood has gone to hell and it has become a violent and dangerous place.
Themes Explored
The Vang Lor family moves in next door to Walt. Walt is not exactly thrilled to be living next door to this immigrant family and it gets worse when the teenage son, Thao tries to steal Walt’s car as part of a gang initiation. Gang culture is really taking over this part of the neighborhood and Walt is sick of it.
Character Development
Thao’s mother manages to get Walt to agree to have Thao do jobs for him as a way to make it up to him for trying to steal his car. Walt and Thao eventually build up a relationship and Walt starts to accept his new neighbors and even care for them. Most of the talk of this movie goes to Clint Eastwood, but young Bee Bang who plays Thao is fantastic and he and Clint Eastwood have great chemistry together.
Conflict and Resolution
With Walt getting in the way of a gang, he soon becomes a target as does the Vang Lor family, there is a brutal scene with Sue Lor who is the sister of Thao. This leads to Thao wanting revenge and going to Walt to ask for his assistance. Walt now cares for Thao and his family and shares his experiences of war and violence with him to try and show that he should not go down a path like this.
Conclusion
As I said in the intro, Gran Torino was a movie that I thought was fantastic the first time I saw it. Perhaps, it is because I knew what was going to happen, but it did seem a very predictable movie the second time around. Hey, some movies are a one-and-done kind of thing and that is fine. I think that is the case with Gran Torino for me, I liked it and think it is a solid 8/10 kind of movie, but I do not see myself watching it again.
