Gran Torino

- 3 1/2 Eberts

I liked Gran Torino, I liked it a lot. It didn't have a tremendous story but it did have a tremendous Clint Eastwood. Like Roger I give it 3 1/2 stars. In many ways in reminded me of John Wayne's last movie, The Shootist. In The Shootist the John Booker character represented all the of the characters that John Wayne had played through the years and this is how he wanted his character to go out.
What made Gran Torino so powerful to me is we had Clint Eastwood making a statement about a rather troubled personal life. In 2008 he said :

"I'm a much better father now than when I was younger because then I was working all around the world and I was desperate to find the brass ring, so I worked constantly. Now my daughter takes precedence over everything and, even though I've done a lot of work in the past year, I haven't ignored her or have not been involved in her school activities. I go to all the softball games and look ridiculous out there because almost everybody's got a much younger father than me. But it's fun. I think you appreciate everything a lot more when you get to my age. I never started out thinking I would have a big family but now it's very important to me and family relationships take precedence over work".

In Gran Torino Walt becomes a much better father figure than he was a father. The bitter, racist bigot learns that it is never too late to change.
Clint was on the screen for 95% of the movie and has created another iconic character. Clint has also added another impressive movie to his impressive resume of movies as director/actor. Has he entered the realm of being the best ever to do both together?