For anyone who has ever witnessed one of director Clint Eastwood’s masterpieces, they know to expect nothing short of excellence from this cinematic genius.  Those expectations will be richly rewarded, as Eastwood carries out his usual standard.  Despite that gleaming recommendation, the supporting cast doesn’t quite measure up to Eastwood’s intensely captivating character and directorial style.

The film’s plot circles around an angry old veteran named Walt Kowalski, played by Clint Eastwood.  An Asian family moves in next door to Walt, and the youngest son Thao is quickly harassed by an Asian gang led by his cousin.  They insist upon recruiting the young and passive Thao into their gang.  After Thao’s reluctant admission into the group, they insist that he steals Walt’s Gran Torino as part of his initiation.  Walt catches him in the act, and as part of the boy’s punishment, Thao is forced to work for Walt for a week.  During this period, Walt befriends Thao and serves as a protector for Thao and his family against the increasingly ruthless gang.

The brightest note of achievement in this film belongs to Clint Eastwood.  Once again, he proves that he is not only one of the most talented directors in Hollywood, but he is also one of its most gifted actors.  Every single grimace and indistinct utterance measure up to pure perfection, and all aspiring actors should strive to learn from this legend.  The direction and execution of this film don’t quite equal Eastwood’s outstanding acting, but they still serve as strong reminders of Eastwood’s directorial capabilities. 

However, as mentioned before, the supporting cast falls very short of Eastwood’s outstanding performance.  Several of the characters actually garnered laughs from the viewing audience on account of their extremely uninspired performances.  During one scene, the young actor that played Thao gave such a weak performance – it became quite uncomfortable to watch.  I found it to be quite strange that for a film led by such devoted and talented perfectionists, such a glaring defect was remarkably overlooked!

Ultimately, I believe the positive aspects of Gran Torino far outweigh the negative.  Even if Eastwood’s performance was the sole redeeming aspect of the film, it would still be worth watching.  However, I would like to issue warning that the film does have some cringe-worthy acting and Clint Eastwood’s character does exclaim almost every racial slur known to the Oriental community and then some.  In essence, all sensitive viewers should be quite wary when watching this film.  I give this film an 8/10