Gran Torino
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: December 12, 2008 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
73
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 34 Critic Reviews
Positive:
26
Mixed:
7
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
If you can survive the F-bombs and the near-constant ethnic invective, Gran Torino is not to be missed, if only as the gutsy, thoroughly unexpected valedictory of an icon fully willing to spend every bit of his considerable capital. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
A movie at once understated and radical, deceptively unremarkable in presentation and ballsy in its earnestness. Don't let the star's overly familiar squint fool you: This is subtle, perceptive stuff. Read full review
90
Village VoiceScott Foundas
Above all, it feels like a summation of everything he (Eastwood) represents as a filmmaker and a movie star, and perhaps also a farewell. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Perhaps the best thing about Schenk's script is that it enticed Eastwood to end his self-imposed acting hiatus and bring his one-of-a-kind aura back to the screen. Read full review
90
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
Mr. Eastwood is also an adept director of his own performances and, perhaps more important, a canny manipulator of his own iconographic presence. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Eastwood finds the humorous aspects of the character as well, no more so than when the appetite of the widower who lives on beef jerky and Pabst Blue Ribbon becomes the center of attention among the Hmong women cooks. Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter Travers
A lifetime in movies runs through this prime vintage Eastwood performance. You can't take your eyes off him. The no-frills, no-bull Gran Torino made my day. Read full review
88
New York PostLou Lumenick
It's also a terrific, career-capping role for Eastwood, who claims he's now retired as an actor. He shows off his comic chops more fully than in any film since "Bronco Billy" more than a quarter-century ago. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Stars Eastwood as an American icon once again -- this time as a cantankerous, racist, beer-chugging retired Detroit autoworker who keeps his shotgun ready to lock and load. Dirty Harry on a pension, we're thinking, until we realize that only the autoworker retired; Dirty Harry is still on the job. Read full review
88
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
The movie is supremely entertaining -- and often hilarious. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
It's a meditation, as affecting as it is entertaining, on the limits of violence and the power of unchained empathy. Read full review
80
The New YorkerDavid Denby
The movie was not written for Eastwood, but it still seems to be all about him--his past characters, his myth, his old role as a dispenser of raw justice. Read full review
80
EmpireAngie Errigo
Simply terrific, enormously watchable and an absolute must for all Eastwood fans. Gotta say it: this film will make your day. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
An amazingly over-the-top anti-racism parable but, despite its obvious shortcomings, it is nevertheless effective and affecting. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
Eastwood directs with his usual relaxed pace and bursts of intensity, a style that's pleasing to watch--and which, also as usual, never fully compensates for any shortcomings of the script handed to him. Read full review
75
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Earnest and understated, Gran Torino is an unflinching examination of themes that have fascinated Eastwood in most of his recent films: family, war, loss, faith and unexpected human connection. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
For those who gripe that America doesn't make cars or movies like it used to, Clint Eastwood has two words for you: Gran Torino. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
This movie seems even rougher around the edges than much of his past work. Still, it's hard to resist. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
Gran Torino amounts to one more elegiac movement in Eastwood's astonishing late-career symphony. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
This is Eastwood's first acting job since "Million Dollar Baby," and his range, like his raspiness, is fairly one-note. Read full review
70
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Highlighted by the star's vastly entertaining performance, this funny, broad but ultimately serious-minded drama about an old-timer driven to put things right in his deteriorating neighborhood looks to be a big audience-pleaser. Read full review
70
SalonStephanie Zacharek
Until Gran Torino starts rumbling headlong toward its tone-deaf, self-serious ending -- the script is by Nick Schenk -- it's often enjoyable, satisfying and funny. Read full review
70
SlateDana Stevens
Eastwood's furthest venture yet into the comic possibilities of his flintier-than-thou persona. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
The movie is ludicrous, but Eastwood’s consistency is poignant. He has an agenda and sticks to it. Read full review
70
Film ThreatScott Mendelson
Gran Torino is not a masterpiece. It’s a fun character drama that features a knowing but winning final performance by Clint Eastwood and just enough commentary to make it worth discussing. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy Burr
An endlessly fascinating movie. If only it were a good one. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
Eastwood has always had the gift for comedy in his acting repertoire, but he indulges in it only rarely. His fans might embrace this return to comedy. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Eastwood's performance is the movie's centerpiece, and as you might expect, it's just tough enough to hold everything together. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
Eastwood's foursquare directorial aesthetic tends to heighten, rather than camouflage, a screenplay's shortcomings. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
Maybe this mixed-up and weird, awful but awfully likable movie is what Dirty Harry had coming to him, after all. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Eastwood is still a primal force on-screen, but his unusual practice of shooting scripts as written, which served him well on "Unforgiven" and "Million Dollar Baby," here leaves him exposed to Nick Schenk's familiar situations and awkward dialogue. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
Gran Torino skids into the narrative ditch. By the time it jolts to an ending, followed by Clint rasping a tune to the closing credits, you're more likely to be rolling your eyes than dabbing them. Read full review
50
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Nick Schenk's well-intentioned script employs the creaky old Hollywood device of reversing everything set up in its first half. Read full review
38
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
It's no compliment to say a movie is "all of a piece" if the piece is all worn out. For all its surface harshness, this movie is a star vehicle at once rickety and cozy. Read full review
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