I really think that one of the best things you can say about a movie is: Shucks. That was real nice. Well, maybe without the 1850s prospector slang – but you get my drift. Not every movie can redefine cinema and the universe and everything in it (hat-tip to Mr Stanley Kubrick), so being solidly nice is a vastly underrated quality in filmmaking. And even though he’s spent the majority of his career making movies about killing people with explosions and harpoons, Clint Eastwood is the King of shucks-real-nice cinema – and Gran Torino is just about the nicest thing he’s ever made.

So the story is nothing new – a gruff Korean War vet learns to overcome his prejudice and in the process makes amends for mistakes of the past. Clint’s acting is nothing new either – his character, Walt, is essentially Frankie from Million Dollar Baby but this time around he hates non-Caucasians instead of broads. There’s nothing new in any of the supporting casts’ performances either – a lot of the Hmong actors playing Walt’s neighbours are borderline chuckleworthy. But through Clint’s steady hand at direction and growling onscreen presence, somehow it all pulls together and never for a moment feels tired or melodramatic.

Check out the scene where Walt gives advice to his protégé Thao (Bee Vang) on how to pick up girls. It’s difficult to imagine anyone playing it as perfectly as Clint, with a natural charisma that’s at once stern yet fragile – where another actor would almost certainly have had an abrasive presence, Clint’s underplaying of Walt’s bitter personality helps you sympathise with him.

In many ways, Gran Torino is to the Dirty Harry series what Unforgiven was to the Dollars trilogy. This is post-modern Clint: where there’s no glory in violence, and avoiding a fight is always the better option. Walt’s monologue on his horrifying time during the Korean War mirrors William’s speech on the road to Big Whiskey in Unforgiven in deconstructing the myth of glorious violence.

It’s understated yet powerful stuff  – and most of all, it’s real nice.