Comments on: Gran Torino Review

By: pancakeslim

pancakeslim — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 04:06:32 +0000

godawful piece of gobshite-
(and I loves me some Clint Eastwood. he can still get my girl bits all riled up even though he’s an old codger.)
I soooo wanted to love it, but this movie was a huge steaming turd. sorry.

By: May

May — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 08:52:43 +0000

I was disappointed with this movie! I give it two thumbs down!!!It wasn’t even worth watching at all!
The hmong actors were really bad! It was horrible watching them. I was really looking forward to this movie despite all the bad comments I had got from friends. I think the movie would’ve been a lot better if his crew of actors were more prepared and had better experience with acting.

By: Samson

Samson — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 06:22:22 +0000

I totally disagree with that. I thought Grand Torino was sick, especially as it stands in the line of Clint Eastwood’s work. It says it okay here: http://www.examiner.com/x-13613-New-Classics-Examiner~y2009m6d16-Clint-Eastwoods-legacy-of-badass-Grand-Torino (i been reading up)

By: AshB

AshB — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 04:01:59 +0000

First off I want to say I enjoyed this film very much. However, I believe that this film portrays essentialism throughout the entire movie. The stereotypes that Clint Eastwood uses seem to become innate characteristics shared by all members of the particular group/gang he talks about. For example, the saying, “You poeple always…” is used overy often. Because Clint Eastwood’s character is the hero in the end, the film almost suggests that his attitude and racism is acceptable. It is a film like this that makes reacism seem unimportant in the world.

By: Jake

Jake — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 21:37:10 +0000

In reply to Sound Designer Dan. I concur on that last part. Vehemently.

By: J. Roush

J. Roush — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 18:33:49 +0000

I really don’t understand the critics points. Im not quite sure what he’s trying to say? I did however understand the movie and all the things that were trying to be said. Clint Eastwood again shows us the genius that he is. Any negative criticism of this movie is ignorant! The acting is genuine. The story very realistic and extremely positive! Of course this story is build around stereo types. Many are! If you give it an honest chance though you might see through them the way there meant to be seen through. I highly recomend this movie to anyone!

By: Previewfilms.net

Previewfilms.net — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 03:52:48 +0000

In reply to total jiu jitsu. Yes that poster was decieving, at first I thought at 70 something years old.. I think Clint is a little over the hill to be still doing action films. This was a good role for him.... Then again after watching him I still think the old man can give the younger guys in hollywood a run for their money

By: GARY DOBBS

GARY DOBBS — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 22:52:09 +0000

This review is far short of the mark – the film is excellent. The young actors do a good enough job and their innocence helps get the pictures message across. There ain’t nothing wrong with the picture and all you folks saying the supporting cast were poor are just jumping on the bandwagon.

11/10 – Clint rocks.

By: Rogapol

Rogapol — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 03:15:23 +0000

I’m always thinking of that question “who would you like to have over for dinner”? Thanks Clint you just reminded me and thanks for the review because I couldn’t figure out whether it was great flick or a bit ordinary. Great because of Clint and some ordinary acting from the support cast so thats what the mixed feeling was. Nevertheless I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend someone to watch it.

By: mr 64

mr 64 — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:35:43 +0000

Gran Torino is one of my favorite movies of all time. The idea that there is only one star in the movie and the rest are no namers says it all. I hope there is a sequal called Walts ghost kicks that gangs ass again from behind the wall.

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 02:54:40 +0000

This movie was a piece of garbage, come on!

By: David

David — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 17:54:24 +0000

I think there were specific scenes where the gang was told “hey, hassle the kid in a gang sort of way” that didn’t come across very well. Also, the white car with the whale tail as a symbol of “the gang is here” got sort of old. But overall, I think the acting was good by the Hmong characters.

One thing that I think deserves more exploration is: did Walt change? Did he find a salvation? I mean, to the end, he is the same one-minded racist. After the ending (no spoiler here!), his “final words” to family and his neighbors indicate he harbors the same racist beliefs as he ever has. That’s the part I like about this movie, that there is a big question mark as to how much, if any, Walt has really changed, or learned, or found his salvation. It’s open to interpretation. Is he just acting out of rage, honor, a “protect women” philosophy, or simply enacting his lifelong mentality of engaging in combat? Or to those options, can we add, is he acting out of compassion, understanding, a newfound way of thinking about life? Like I said, I think the answer is up to each viewer.

Walt (Eastwood) is somehow a lovable character to the end, even with the barage of racist slurs. I was a bit shocked, as were most audience members I believe, in the first 20 minutes or so of hearing these racially-motivated names. The funny thing is, I think the audience collectively came to accept that this was what Walt was after a while, and then laughter ensued when he would use a racial slur directly later in the movie. That was an interesting aspect of the movie as well, the way the audience all reacts and accepts together, over time, the constant and repeated use of racial taunts and name-calling.

Overall, I’d recommend the film for sure. I want my 70+ year old Midwestern-raised Dad to see the film, if nothing else, to hear his interpretation of what he has seen. That it was filmed in 6 weeks explains a lot, and I didn’t know that until reading the comments in this review. Go see this movie to appreciate another great Eastwood film.