Digital Intelligence An internet professional blog by Alex Sandrey

Gran Torino

Thanks to a ridiculous delay on the train today I managed to finish watching Gran Torino staring the quite frankly brilliant Clint Eastwood.

I really enjoyed this film and as someone else put it to me it kept you engaged right from the beginning till the very end and I couldn’t agree more.

The out and out racism that to start is quite blunt but as the film progresses you see that for most of those who know Walt (Clint) it’s almost become a term if endearment and is often given back as good as received.

The story itself is simple and well told and yes there is an element of Hollywood in there of grumpy old guy learns to smile again but I think that’s OK. It’s kind of only part of the whole film and I think secondary to the character interaction and how the two what seems like completely outlook and understanding are in fact not that different when you strip away the fluff and get down to basic human emotions.

I realize I’ve painted it as a bit of an ‘intellectual’ film which I also think is a bit unfair. I found it easy going and in places quite funny (particularly liked the scene in the barber shop). I think it’s well worth a watch. I think it’s even better than million dollar baby (which is another one you should watch if you haven’t seen it already).

Over all I would give it 4 1/2 out of 5 (UPDATE: Forgot to say, it lost 1/2 point for the singing at the end).