Saw it. Liked it. The movie excels during the humorous parts which are fairly frequent. Some great lines from Eastwood's character, a cranky Korean War vet named Walt Kowalski, retired in a decaying Detroit neighborhood (is there another kind?) from a career in an auto assembly plant. The "serious" Gran Torino, along with some technical aspects of the film require a little suspension of disbelief but the movie is a rare thing these days from Hollywood--something worth paying money to see. It's a little bittersweet seeing Eastwood age--he's not Josey Wales or even the guy in "Unforgiven" anymore. But, he's still a bonafide, 100% Grade A movie star which they ain't currently making right now.
3 comments:
Speaking of technical aspects, I cringe whenever I watch the first part of "The Outlaw Josey Wales." Being somewhat of a Civil War buff and familiar with arms, accoutrements, uniforms, etc. there is just some awful stuff to see. Worst part for me is when John Vernon's character, Fletcher, outlines the surrender terms to the remaining CSA troops around the campfire. Shots of pot bellied Confederates drive me nuts--there wasn't a fat rebel in the entire damn country--those were some lean boys scrounging barely enough to live on. Word to Hollywood: never, ever use "volunteers" for troops. You'll get the fat asses who hang out at the hobby shops every time.
Yeah, I know--replying to my own damn post is bad form. Sue me.
It does take away from the appeal of a movie when they can't get that stuff right.
In an otherwise outstanding movie, Winchester '73, Waco Johnnie Dean fires his pistol into the ground something like 3 times in his death throes. Of course, almost all pistols back then were single action, requiring the hammer to be thumbed back for each shot which is an unlikely thing to do when you're about to buy it.
And don't get me started on the John Wayne movie, "The Comancheroes", which takes place well before the Civil War and all of the rifles are lever action...
In "Torino" my quibbles were:
1. Kowalski having a Garand as a home defense weapon. He would have had a 12 gauge pump. Further, he later says he used that "very rifle" to kill guys in Korea--that seems highly doubtful to me--I doubt he would have brought it home with him or been able to buy back that exact rifle after the war via available programs.
2. One scene shows Kowalski sitting on his porch with 7 or 8 expended Pabst's around him. He's then invited next door for a party and acts perfectly fine. No doubt the character could hold his own, but an 80 year old guy is going to show some wear and tear after a moderate session of drinking.
3. I just didn't buy Eastwood as a polish guy from Detroit. That guy would have been more of a schlub.
Post a Comment