Clint Eastwood, Christopher Carley, Bee Vang, Ahney Her, Brian Haley ...( see more  see more... ) , Brian Howe , Cory Hardrict , Dreama Walker , Geraldine Hughes , John Carroll Lynch

Disgruntled Korean War vet Walt Kowalski sets out to reform his neighbor, a young Hmong teenager, who tried to steal Kowalski's prized possession: his 1972 Gran Torino.

Flixster Users

90% liked it

271,991 ratings

Critics

79% liked it

204 critics

R, 1 hr. 56 min.

Directed by: Clint Eastwood

Release Date: January 9, 2009

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DVD Release Date: June 9, 2009

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Stats: 41,433 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (41,433)


  • December 15, 2009
    Not a bad movie shows how even an old racist can change his views in a world he's grown accustomed too.
  • October 14, 2009
    Takes a little time to warm up, but getting close to the main characters is what this film is all about. The underlying hypocrocy is dealt with in a realistic manner with a whole back story which lets you understand where all the hurt and outlook comes from.

    Perhaps Eastwood?...( read more)s most deeply connecting film to date in terms of both the character he plays and in directing this film.

    This is a film you cannot help but get emotionally pulled in to.

    Worth all the praise and recommendations.
  • October 5, 2009
    This is not Clint Eastwood's best outing, either acting or directing. Gran Torino is not hitting on all cylinders. The main problem I have with the movie is that it elevates message over story. This is one of the most artificially written and artificially delivered scri...( read more)pts I've seen in some time, and from experience, when that happens, it means that the good people involved have lost sight of the primary mission of the movie: to entertain.

    Yes, it's always nice to instruct viewers, but instruction should be a motivation that plays a lesser role. Entertainment is what we're always hoping for when we watch a movie, and if we actually learn something along the way, that's like icing on the cake.

    This movie is not without some entertainment value -- no Eastwood project ever is -- but it is far too message-driven at far too great a cost to any other purpose.

  • September 27, 2009
    Evan at 79 years old, Eastwood can still act and direct a great flick. He plays the racist old man perfectly.
  • September 9, 2009
    Thug: What you lookin' at old man?
    Walt Kowalski: Ever notice how you come across somebody once in a while you shouldn't have messed with? That's me.

    Its Grumpy Old Men meets Crash!

    Clint Eastwood returns to the screen as Walt Kowalski, a bitter, old racist who's wife has...( read more) just died, leaving him all alone in his neighborhood full of Asian immigrants.

    He has two sons he cares little about in terms of what they've become and cares mainly about three things: his dog, his M1 Grand Rifle, and his 1972 Gran Torino. Walt has served in Korea and worked at a Ford auto plant, and this is the life he has come from.

    Walt Kowalski: [sneering and aiming his gun] Get off my lawn!

    The plot kicks in once we bring one of Walt's neighbors into play. He is Thao, a shy boy who is coaxed by bullies to try and steal Walt's car. Big mistake, but eventually Walt gets involved with Thao and his family by intimidating the bullies.

    Now, while Walt just wants to be left alone, he can't help but be forced into a new relationship with the people next door. Even as he uses racial slurs at them constantly, they accept him and he learns to accept them while dealing with the various turmoils he has faced in his past.

    What of course works in this movie is Eastwood. Even pissed off, grizzled Eastwood is still damn interesting and fun to watch. His character is so bitter and mean but manages to keep us engaged. The younger actors playing his Asian neighbors also work well into the story, despite not exactly being talented as actors.

    A problem involves what happens in most Eastwood directed films, it is paced very leisurely. Sure there is a story, but it takes its time to be told and makes sure to get its character points across. It doesn't hurt that a lot of this movie is really damn funny, even if many scenes are unnecessary or function only in the world of film, but Eastwood's tendencies to involve religion into his films always seem to bog it down.

    Still an entertaining movie with another fine turn from Eastwood the actor.

    Walt Kowalski: Relax zipperhead. I'm not gonna shoot you. I look down to her, if I was you. You know, I knew you were a dipshit the first time I ever saw you. Then I thought you were worse with women than stealing cars... toad
    Thao Vang Lor: It's Thao
    Walt Kowalski: What?
    Thao Vang Lor: It's not toad, my name is Thao
    Walt Kowalski: Yeah well you are blowing it with that girl who was there. Not that I give two shits about a toad like you
    Thao Vang Lor: You don't know what you are talking about
    Walt Kowalski: You're wrong eggroll, I know exactly what I'm talking about. I may not be the most pleasent person to be around, but I got the best woman who was ever on this planet to marry me. I worked at it, it was the best thing ever happend to me. Hands down. But you, you know, you're letting klit-klat, Ding-Dong and Charlie Chan, just walk out with miss "what's her face". She likes you, you know? Though I don't know why!
    Thao Vang Lor: who?
    Walt Kowalski: Yum Yum. You know the girl in the purpple sweater. She's been looking at you all day, stupid!
    Thao Vang Lor: You mean Youa?
    Walt Kowalski: Yeah... yum yum... yeah... nice girl... nice girl, very charming girl... I talked with her... yeah But you, you just let her walk out rigth out with the 3 stooges. And you know why? 'cause you're a big fat pussy. Well. I gotta go. Good day pussycake.
  • December 13, 2009
    Great movie. Such a nice storyline.
  • December 13, 2009
    it was good but i thought it would have been better tho
  • December 13, 2009
    A great flick by film maestro Clint Eastwood. Walt Kowalski's car, a 1972 Gran Torino sets the passage for an encounter between a war veteran and an asian american boy who hasn't found his way into life. It has a great script and an even better direction. Sometimes we don't know ...( read more)how needy of affection we are and how close we are to the right people who might provide it.
  • December 12, 2009
    Fantastic movie from actor/director Clint Eastwood! Starring in this intriguing drama, Eastwood portrays an interesting character: an elderly, bitter Korean war veteran. Walt Kowalski is disconnected from his neighbors as well as his own children. Wanting to be left alone, he is ...( read more)in constant strife with his next-door neighbors- a Hmong family. Plagued with terrible war memories and believing that a certain act in the past will disallow redemption, Walt begins to interact with his neighbors, particularly young Thao and his strong, highly opinionated, sister Sue. The connection allows him to regain a bit of peace each day, but a horrible event regenerates a deep hatred within himself (one he has tried to bury deep in the past) and help to protect the family that has enabled him to feel. Great cast- Clint Eastwood, Ahney Her, Bee Vang, Christopher Carley, and Brian Howe. Worth seeing!
  • December 12, 2009
    Where old soldiers go

Critic Reviews


February 19, 2009
Nigel Andrews, The Financial Times

Game, set and match. We barely see the ball pass us before it hits the baseline, but Gran Torino has proved itself another effortless Eastwood Grand Slam victory. full review

January 9, 2009
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle

Gran Torino is the most obvious and least interesting of the four movies [Eastwood's] directed in the last two years. full review

December 19, 2008
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

By the time it jolts to an ending, followed by Clint rasping a tune to the closing credits, you're more likely to be rolling your eyes than dabbing them. full review

December 18, 2008
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Gran Torino is about two things, I believe. It's about the belated flowering of a man's better nature. And it's about Americans of different races growing more open to one another in the new century. full review

December 15, 2008
David Edelstein, New York Magazine

To think Gran Torino is a masterpiece, you have to accept the contrived setups and sledgehammer melodrama. full review

December 12, 2008
Claudia Puig, USA Today

Though you can see his character's redemption coming a mile away, Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino is still well worth the ride. full review

December 11, 2008
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

Gran Torino, whatever its flaws are, is a movie about what America looks like now, and it posits that the work of living amicably together is sometimes hard but always worth it. full review

December 11, 2008
Pete Hammond, Hollywood.com

Although younger audiences may find the film's rhythms rather slow, the ultimate payoff is huge, and Clint fans are likely to eat it up. full review

December 10, 2008
Armond White, The New York Press

This is pitiful, nostalgic fun for Dirty Harry fanatics. Yet it lacks the political edge that made the Dirty Harry movies provocative. full review

December 10, 2008
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

A lifetime in movies runs through this prime vintage Eastwood performance. You can't take your eyes off him. The no-frills, no-bull Gran Torino made my day. full review

View more Gran Torino reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • wesleyrage
    September 4, 2009
    totally of the hook
  • ilovetheeightiesforever
    April 18, 2009
    I love this movie alot!!!!!!!! I have always been a Clint Eastwood fan and I love the movies that he is in alot too!! Sure this movie has racist parts but hey that's just how the real world is!!!!!!!! And I totally love the car in it too!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WISH IT WAS MY CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • MoviesAddicted
    March 14, 2009
    awesome no words could describe this movie i just loved it
  • MurderCapital
    March 9, 2009
    If there is something I have learned from "Gran Torino" it would be that racist slurs are apparently still funny.
  • jay1892
    March 8, 2009
    I'm a bit baffled by the plaudits being thrown at this film. Yes Clint is a legend, but does that mean we have to ignore the blatant shortcomings of this film? So clichéd it's untrue. Several parts had me rolling my eyes but the supposedly powerful moment when Thao's sister comes home and a........erm.....stunned Clint drops his glass?? Weak. Wooden performances and a dodgy script. The more I think about it the fewer stars I'm willing to give it. Clint does grumpy old man as well as you'd expect but the laboured humour wears thin after 3rd or 4th "Zipper head". Not impressed I'm afraid. Was expecting better.
  • krumpchie
    February 23, 2009
    this is a tremendous movie & clint really nailed hes role
  • AsianNorthOfThailandGeneration
    January 22, 2009
    Glitter Graphics

    Glitter You Rock Graphics


    I'm wishing would like to watch it . I'm 'll do it you know?Coz i'm liked often to been thier at the theatre to watched a lot of the films
  • PvtCaboose91
    January 18, 2009
    Sublime movie!
    One of the best films of 2008. Clint Eastwood was born to be both in front of and behind the camera.

    The film's style felt like The 25th Hour meets Dirty Harry. Odd combo...but accurate description.

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