Is Gran Torino the most overrated movie of the last decade? That's bound to be a controversial statement, and it's not one that's supposed to write off Clint Eastwood's film entirely. It's just that Gran Torino is a seriously weird movie; though it contains a passable performance by the former Fistful of Dollars veteran, there's a lot to question about the film itself - one which also feels like Oscar-bait of the highest order. Firstly, there's the acting. It's just not very good. As stated above, Eastwood is fine, but the rest of the actors feel like they've been plucked out of community college and forced at gunpoint to act beside him. Secondly, there's the movie's attempt to be edgy through its exploration of age-based racism, which just feels forced and awkward and unrealistic. How did Gran Torino, a movie that is pretty much a mere step above "good," find itself ranked in 141st place? It's pretentious, badly edited, weirdly paced, and is so infuriatingly self-righteous that it almost feels like something a first year UCLA student cooked up. Which doesn't mean that it isn't watchable; just that it doesn't belong anywhere near the Top 250.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
