I laughed when viewing the previews as Eastwood pretended to shoot gangsters with his thumb and index finger. Little did I realize how important that gesture would be to the movie as an entirety. Eastwood has a certain undeniable charm even when sputtering out racial epithets. Somehow his use of the words "cheap Jew", "Gook", and "slope" do not seem racist as much as they sound matter of fact and natural to any Korean War veteran. One has a difficult time resolving the contradiction of Eastwood’s character. At once Walt is a miserable old man filled with hatred, and yet he is a generous/unselfish do-gooder determined to protect his neighbors because they show him an ounce of kindness. This point still has me wondering if the death of his wife (the first scenes cover this) is the culprit causing his disdain and superciliousness, or if his lingering family issues are to blame. His character Walt is a complicated veteran.

       The violence is not constant which is refreshing, but the action is intense and viewers actually sympathize with Walt and with his neighbors who demonstrate a certain sense of tradition and respect that is attractive even to al old sworn enemy, a war veteran.  The only complaint I have about this picture is the quickness of the action. This is such a poignant and meaningful film, it deserves to be a 10 episode mini-series. Packing so many life changes into such a short film reduces its overall impact which is surely a shame. Kudos to you Clint Eastwood for remaining a great film maker and possibly an even better human being.