[Closed] Gran Torino not very good.

Well, if you watched to gain insight into racism in America, i can see why you were disappointed.

Nevertheless, it is a great film

No. Great film. (makes mental note not to watch anything athgray likes)

Amazing film, in fact I'm going to dig it out for another watch.

You sure you didn't accidentally watch Starsky and Hutch?

What's great about it? What were you expecting Charlie? I felt the same after watching Crash.

Superb film. Mrs Kenny was in tears by the end.

I think you're looking in the wrong place for an insight into racism in America. you'd need a lot longer than 2 hours to even scratch the surface...

great film

Aye. Good film.

I thought it was one of the best films of 2008 actually. Apart from the dodgy singing at the end.

There are a few very hollywood-esque moments in it where it's kinda explained to the audience what exactly is going on, despite it being obvious to anyone with an IQ over 90, but if you can look past those it's a great film.

"Yeah, I blow a hole in your face, and then I go in the house, and I sleep like a baby."

Or

"Ever notice that you come across somebody once in a while that you shouldn't have f***ed with?"

I thought it might be an insight into racism in America

It dealt with race issues in a very clunky way. Not realistic at all.

At the risk of being a pedantic little sod, if you needed an insight then how do you know it wasn't realistic?

I'd say very good, but "great" would be flattering it a tad.

Watching it for an insight into race issues? You might as well watch The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

Great film superbly directed and Clint doing his great bit at being hard as coffin nails.

In what way was it "not realistic at all"? Upon what are you making that judgement?

I liked the film but then I'm not really a big film watcher.

Rachel

And no noticeable racism at all!

I fear I may be adrift from public opinion here. I recently saw This is England and it's follow ups which I think cover aspects of race and other issues in a far more subtle way.

Really?

In terms of realism, I thought that virtually all the dialogue was unbelievable.

This is England is far from subtle.

Bit too much Clint-Squint for my liking. Some folk love that kind of thing though.

Just watched Gran Torino for the first time tonight. I thought it might be an insight into racism in America. It dealt with race issues in a very clunky way. Not realistic at all. Some shocking acting.
Anyone else agree.

No I don't ! Don't give up your day job in pursuit of becoming a film critic 😯

GT's an absolute Gem. What planet are you on ?

"bang" "bang"......

i thought it was a quality movie - and im not a clint fan at all ... hes a bit - wooden imo. but perfect for that roll

I may be wrong saying subtle as This is England deals with outright Fascism at times, however I thought the characters were more engaging and believable. I will hold my hands up if people like Gran Torino, I just thought it wasn't for me.

I liked it. It came out at the same time as Harry Brown which was reasonably similar on our side of the Atlantic. That was OK too.

athgray - you're just plainly wrong! 🙂

I thought it was great - plan to watch it again soon!

I had very low expectations of Gran Torino but ended up finding it quite entertaining. Wasn't bad at all.

The police officer said to the minister 'We arrived with you, so we are leaving with you.' Before dragging the minister into the police car.
A man sacrifices his life for boy he has known for a matter of weeks who comes from a race he has hated for 60 years. If you think that is in any way shape or form believable, Hollywood here we come!!

OMG what's wrong with you people it was an absolute stinker , I can't believe anybody thought it was any good . Poor story , not very well acted , very unlikely storyline . Totally with the OP here although I would never watch a Clint film and expect to gain an insight into real issues.

You thought Crash was poop?

Yes I did. I feel that most American output that refers to race tends to tiptoe around the issue. Hollywood's Portrayal of race tends to be very black or white. (No pun intended).

American History X?

Not great, but I enjoyed it.
Agree that it's not believable or gives any insights into anything (wasn't expecting it to).

Perhaps because I had not seen it I was expecting more. I am a fan of Clint Eastwood normally, I just thought this film said nothing of value.
I haven't seen American History X for a while but I thought it was quite good.

I didn't particularly like it.
Bit slow, Dirty Harry gone a bit stale.
I don't think it skirts around any particular issues, more skims the surface and delivers a bit of a long-winded and simple parable.
Might have made a reasonable short film.

Re. This is England....
Guy I used to work with an old skin head.... Even had "skins" tattooed on his forehead (although the first S was written backwards as he had done it in the mirror whilst in Borstal, but that's another story). I said that perhaps he should see it. Spoke to him about it next time I saw him, asked him what he thought: "yeah good... Well good, especially the bit where he kicked the black guy's head in".......

Nice.

athgray, give Tyrannosaur a go. A lot less Hollywood, and a lot harder hitting, with a fair amount of insight into various issues (although only a little racism).

I liked it.

Thanks Real man will look into it. I like films with realistic issues. People thinking Gran Tourismo are realistic should watch something like Hillsborough.

I didn't expect it to be realistic, perhaps that was your problem.

Maybe Drac. If that is the case what is the point of a film like that?

Entertainment?

Like what?

There is no point, some critics will try to tell you there is but it's there to entertain, to provide a story and that's what it did.

It is surely possible to provide a film that entertains as well as seriously tackles issues of the day? Gran Torino does not do this!

Just be prepared for it, it's definitely not a lazy Sunday morning film.

Others that would be worth a watch (if you haven't already):

Requiem for a Dream
World's Greatest Dad (bit of a wild card)
City of God
Babel
Biutiful
21 Grams

Also I'd really recommend End of Watch to anyone who liked Gran Torino. They're quite different, but when I think of solid, entertaining American films that avoid getting too Hollywood and have a good mixture of scenes, they're both somewhere near the top of my list.

It is surely possible to provide a film that entertains as well as seriously tackles issues of the day? Gran Torino does not do this!

Zombieland, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim vs the World. All fantastic films. Don't think they really tackle too many issues. Sometimes it's nice for a film to do that, but sometimes it's nice when it doesn't bother.

It is surely possible to provide a film that entertains as well as seriously tackles issues of the day? Gran Torino does not do this!

True but I not sure that was it's intention.

I really didn't enjoy Gran Torino.

I strongly suggest watching these instead;
American History X (one of my favourite films)
Requiem for a Dream
Babel

Have seen Babel and City of God. Babel is OK but I really liked City of God.

Harry Brown is a good movie which isn't massively different to Gran Torino. Just better executed.

Think Crash is one of the most engaging films about racism I've seen. Brilliantly acted and shot.

Must try to see Gran Torino.

The younger members of Clint's neighbours were born in America but no mention was made of their American/Korean heritage. The film would have been more interesting with more ambiguity.

GT: decent enough but wouldn't take time out to see it again
This is England: 'kin brutal!

Well good, especially the bit where he kicked the black guy's head in".......

SPOILER: That's the bit at the end IIRC? Revolting to watch but sadly all too illustrative of the film's message.

This is England- havent seen the pitch for this movie but judging by the clip its a historical drama with an agenda?

Gran Torino- brilliant film by a exceptional film maker, not sure he's properly recognised yet , maybe he'll have to peg it first.

+1 for Harry Brown. Nice, in a way...

Another interesting film is Mammoth. Not racist or anything, just good.

Oh, and Revenge, or is it called Revanche... Can't remember, but also good.

BTW, the little boy in TIE wasn't an actor when he got the part. He also said he'd spend a load of money doing up his bike if he got paid. Good lad 🙂

People thinking Gran Tourismo are realistic

On a serious note Tyrannosaur as RM suggested is a fantastic film. Very hard hitting. It stayed with me for weeks.

One i saw at xmas for the first time that i thought was pretty brutal - kidulthood

If you want something that tackles racism then you should watch The Guard. Hard hitting and emotional from start to finish.

Very realistic too.

True but I not sure that was it's intention.

It was its intention, Eastwood regularly explained what he wanted the film to tackle, American racial tension being one of them. It failed on that front clearly but that aside like all Eastwood directed films it was horribly childish and naive. Clunky and contrived. Bloody rubbish basically.

athgray - Member
The younger members of Clint's neighbours were born in America but no mention was made of their American/Korean heritage. The film would have been more interesting with more ambiguity.

That would be bcause they weren't Korean, they were Hmong.

But then I suppose they all look the same to you, etc etc 😉

Clint growling his way through the movie is utter class 🙂

Story/believable ?? Who cares it entertained me !!

like all Eastwood directed films it was horribly childish and naive.

Unforgiven?

I enjoyed it. I lent the DVD to friends and they enjoyed it. I'm surprised some think Clint failed in his own stated objectives. The message was clear enough not to be lost in translation.

Didn't see a lot of childishness in Million Dollar Baby.