Western hero

Clint Eastwood's new detective thriller is actually John Wayne's old Western, True Grit, given a heart transplant. A 15-year-old orphan in the Wayne film begged Rooster Cogburn, the one-eyed marshal, to come out of retirement and hunt down her father's killer.

In Blood Work, Eastwood, now 72, also looks his age, though that steely, steady gaze that says "Make my day" hasn't weakened. His character has a disability, too (Note that "disability operas," as they're crudely known in the film industry, win many an Oscar).

Ex-FBI agent Terry McCaleb (Eastwood, like Wayne, favours the Scots-Irish "Mc" in his fictional pedigrees) had a near-fatal heart attack while pursuing his man two years earlier. Now, restored with someone else's ticker, but in retirement and messing about in his boat at Long Beach marina, he's visited by a "little sister" figure (Wanda De Jesus). The heart he has used to belong to her murdered sibling.

Conscience, duty and boredom send Eastwood on the trail, and the killer obliges by putting together a puzzle involving blood types, organ donations and fiendish disguises.

It's a small film, but a nice one. Eastwood's own advancing infirmities are made the spur of the plot: a shortness of breath, an occasional panic attack, and an alarming burst of energy when he risks cardiac arrest to arrest his man, with the help of his beach-bum deckmate, Jasper (Jeff Daniels). It all keeps him on the go, while adding the suspense of the insurance statistics to the plot.

Brian Helgeland's tight little script offers plenty of intriguing misleads as the tec, famous for his profiling powers, finds himself up against a worthy adversary in this kind of guessing game. Subsidiary characters are front-rank casting: Anjelica Huston's tart-tongued cardiologist, administering check-ups and put-downs; Paul Rodriguez's sardonic Hispanic cop touchy about Eastwood having another Hispanic's organ inside him ("Don't think that makes you one of us"); and Tina Lifford as an old FBI flame who stealthily slips Eastwood restricted info when he turns up her pilot light.

It's low-key entertainment, easy to like, teasing to follow, old-fashioned but just right for the season. The superstar who knows his age and makes a point of playing it will seldom outgrow his fans' affections. They grow old along with him. Released 27 December.

Blood Work
Cert: 15