I went to see Gran Torino last weekend and in many ways it was worth the wait. In other ways it was a departure from Eastwood's movies like Josey Wales, or Unforgiven in that he ends the movie differently and there is an element of sacrifice not usually seen in the way it is in Gran Torino. This is not a shoot em up flick like Dirty Harry or Death Wish. Not all all. Characters are developed and there is a plot, and plenty of subtleties that Eastwood likes to dabble in, so pay attention if you see it. I won't give the whole plot away, but the protagonist Walt is an anachronism, old school if you will. At times I thought his simmering character was close to over the top, but in the context of who he was, and I have known people like that, it was believable. The saddest part of the movie for me was how utterly self-centered and self-absorbed his children and grandchildren were and the triumph was the love he felt for the immigrant family living next door. The humanity he showed at times is something we haven't seen in younger and more violent versions of Clint and his movies. While I wish he would do something along the lines of Dirty Harry and close the book on it, this was a wonderful and at times poignantly truthful movie that was well worth the price of admission.
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