Wasn't sure if I even wanted to watch Gran Torino, but, my wife rented it and I happened to have nothing to do at the moment, so I watched it as well.

Overall, it was good.  I was interested to see what type of character Eastwood would play, considering all his vigilante cop roles, his western roles and so on. 

Eastwood is an older retired white male living in a community that has, for the most part, become very Asian.  He's a decent guy who worked all his life, was married (wife passed away) and lived a clean  average life.  He has a married son with whom he barely keeps contact.  His son and family seem to want to just milk Eastwood of his house, savings and his car.  That's my take on it, anyway.  Although, in a couple of scenes, the son almost seems genuinly concerned for his father.  That was a little confusing.  Eastwood's character is very racist.  In fact, his role here reminded me of a cross between Archie Bunker and Charles Bronson's Death Wish.  Eastwood especially hates Asians, as he fought in Korea, the images of which haunt him daily (we learn later in the film).

A band of scum, a local Asian gang, terrorizes the community.  Of course, no one does anything about it.  The police are no where to be found and / or the residents are afraid to talk to the police because they are foreigners and for fear of retaliation. 

This gang tries to forcefully initiate a young Asian boy.  His first deed is to steal Eastwood's beautiful shiney like-new 1972 Gran Torino.  This boy is Eastwood's neighbor.

Eastwood catches the boy in the act and stops him.

The scum returns, terroizing the boy, his older sister and family.  Eastwood has enough and with rifle in hand, kicks the scum off their property.  He hates the scum, but at the same time wants nothing to do with the Asians.

The Asians begin bringing tons of food to his house as a thank you.  There are some funny scenes here.  It is their old tradition.  At first he refuses.  But, the food smells so good.  All he ever eats is beef jerky.  Eventually he gives in. 

The boy's sister is a spunky girl who has no problem telling Eastwood how it is.  They become friends.

Eastwood begins helping the young boy, getting him a job in construction and loaning him some tools.  Unfortunately, the scum beat up the boy and steal the tools.  Eastwood retaliates by going to their 'crib' and beating the crap out of one of the gang.  I expected no less of Eastwood.  Classic Eastwood style.  Even at his age, it was still believable.

The gang retaliates brutally.  The older sister comes home a bloody mess.  They beat her badly and / or raped her.  It was a terrible scene.  Eastwood is extremely upset. 

There is a Pastor who visits Eastwood throughout the movie.  He tries to reason with Eastwood, regarding his racism and hatred, but honestly, the Reverend is so much younger and Eastwood wants no part of his preaching.   However,  some things the Pastor says stick in his mind nevertheless.

The Preacher is also very upset by the gang's retaliation.  He visits Eastwood.  He knows Eastwood will do something, but what?  Eastwood refuses to tell him.  The Preacher goes to the police in a last ditch effort to stop Eastwood. 

Eastwood then plans his revenge on these scum.  I refuse to give away the ending.  It was not what I expected.  I am giving Eastwood a lot of credit here.  The ending made sense all the way around.  It pulled together his character and made the movie work.  It was not unrealistic.  It was not classic Eastwood.

The movie was good.  It was not long.  It was not boring.  There was some humor peppered in here and there.  And, I really enjoyed the ending because it was not the classic Eastwood style.  There is some violence and blood, but only what was neccessary to make the movie work, in my opinion.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older