Gran Torino

So... Gran Torino. Going in, all I knew was that it involved Clint Eastwood, which was reason enough for me to watch it.

The title of the movie, however, should have been more along the lines of "Clint Eastwood is a Badass Old Man."

Clint Eastwood's character, Walt Kowalski, is a Korean war veteran who is undeniably racist, and basically just a grouchy old man. He's also the only white guy still living in a neighborhood full of Asian immigrants. Or in his words, "gooks." Walt's family constantly pisses him off, and his grandchildren fail miserably at deserving an ounce of respect for him. Near the beginning, his granddaughter is seen texting at her grandmother's funeral.

Thao, the son of the Asian family next door quickly finds himself involved with a gang he really doesn't want to be a part of, and they send him to steal Walt's 1972 Gran Torino, also known as a fuckin' sweet car. As he tries to steal it, he is confronted by a pissed off old man with an M1 Garand. Thao escapes, but refuses to return to the gang. They come to his house and try to take him by force, and the resulting struggle ends up on Walt Kowalski's lawn, where he once again confronts them with his Garand. They get the fuck off his lawn.

His actions make him a hero of the neighborhood, and he's actually a bit upset about this, because a bunch of "gooks" keep putting "garbage" on his front porch as thank you gifts.

He becomes a hero again when he saves Thao's sister Sue from not only an idiot boyfriend, but also three black gangsters. When he gives her a ride home, they have a conversation, and the phrase "You're alright, kid." is uttered, proving that despite being somewhat racist, he still recognizes goodness when he sees it in a person.

When one of Walt's sons tries to convince him to move to a rest home (on Walt's birthday, no less), Walt gets pissed off and kicks them out before spending some time sitting on his porch drinking some beers. Sue walks over and invites him to a barbecue, which he only attends because he's out of beers, and they aren't.

Over time, he starts to become fond of Sue and Thao, and the way his character develops is some of the best goddamn characterization I have ever seen in any movie, ever.

Thao is sent by his family to work for Walt as a way of apologizing for trying to steal his car. By the end of the period he was made to work for, Walt is actually quite fond of him, and helps "man him up" with extremely questionable methods and completely misleading examples. Then he helps him get a job.

When the gang messes with Thao again, Walt messes with them. While you have to question the tact of his actions, it hard to question the effectiveness. Beating the shit out of someone and putting a gun in their face is pretty likely to make them more inclined to listen to you and obey your demands.

After the gang steps it up, Walt goes home and puts a fist through every flat surface in his house, then sits down figures out a plan to take down the gang, but I've already spoiled enough of the movie for you, so I won't tell you how it goes.

The Bottom Line: some of the best writing and most believable characters I've seen on screen in quite a while. And Clint Eastwood is just as badass as always. It's well worth it to see this movie, I strongly recommend it.