90
Above all, it feels like a summation of everything he (Eastwood) represents as a filmmaker and a movie star, and perhaps also a farewell.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
75
ReelViews by James Berardinelli
An amazingly over-the-top anti-racism parable but, despite its obvious shortcomings, it is nevertheless effective and affecting.
80
Wall Street Journal by Joe Morgenstern
It's a meditation, as affecting as it is entertaining, on the limits of violence and the power of unchained empathy.
75
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.
90
Los Angeles Times by Kenneth 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.
60
The Hollywood Reporter by Kirk 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.
91
Entertainment Weekly by Lisa 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.
90
The New York Times by Manohla Dargis
Mr. Eastwood is also an adept director of his own performances and, perhaps more important, a canny manipulator of his own iconographic presence.
88
Rolling Stone by Peter 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.
70
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.
Eastwood at his actor-director best, the film is a tribute to his legendary status as a champion of good, even though he may be plagued by many flaws.