Monica and I watched the new Clint Eastwood movie “Gran Torino“  last night, and I wanted to let everyone know what we both thought of it.

Now I have always been a fan of Clint Eastwood.  I think he is one of the greatest American actors ever, and recently has also become quite a wonderful director as well.  I love him in those old westerns where he plays the cowboy  who comes to save the innocent from the bad guys, and this movie isn’t that too far off from that concept that he seams to be able to portray so well.  If you have never seen “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” I would highly recommend it.  It is a classic western where Clint Eastwood plays a great role that really put him on the map at the start of his career.

In this movie Clint Eastwood stars as Walt Kowalski, a retired American auto worker and a Korean War veteran who is living in a neighborhood that is beginning to change due to all the immigrants that are moving in.  He enjoys sitting on his front porch drinking beer, and fixing things around his house to keep him busy.  His only real friend is his dog Daisy, and his pride and joy is his beautiful 1972 Gran Torino car that he helped build back when he worked on the assembly line.

The movie is about the relationship that grows as this old and grumpy man starts to befriend his Hmong immigrant neighbors from Asia that he despises. He soon realizes that he has more in common with these neighbors than with his own two sons, who only contact him when they want something.

The action begins when some young Hmong gang members try to steal his car.  He prevents the theft and  soon the neighbors look at him as a hero, who is taking a stand against the gangs.  He reluctantly lets the neighbors young son help his improve the neighborhood, and an unlikely friendship develops that ends up changing both their lives.

Another reason I really liked this movie is that is is certainly not “politically correct” .  Clint Eastwood’s character is old and prejudiced, and you certainly can tell due to the names he constantly is calling his Asian neighbors.  I actually read a few reviews from critics who didn’t like the movie for this very reason.   I think this just makes the character more believable, and it is refreshing to find an actor and director who is not afraid to make a movie the way they think it should be made, without making it more suitable for a wider audience.

Clint Eastwood had said that he believes this will be his last acting role, which really is a shame.  I really admire his work, and it is a sad to think we will never see him acting again.  He seems like such a down to earth Actor, who you could enjoy a beer with, without him being pretentious.  It is refreshing to see this today in Hollywood, where quite a few actors take themselves way too seriously, and exaggerate their worth.

As you can probably already tell both Monica and I enjoyed this movie very much, and we would highly recommend it.