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The ending is definitely a let down for fans of Eastwood stereotype characters. That said it was fitting for the story of the Kolwalski character.

I don't agree that the ending was fitting for the Kowalski character. I just don't see how the route Kowalski chose was any more moral or nearly as effective as the route that Clint fans expected him to go. Also, I didn't like the portrayal that a Korean War vet would feel he had anything to atone for, especially with regards to any particular ethnic groups. Sure, war can get nasty, but failing to go to war can get nasty, also, and I bet most people of North Korea wish that the Americans had fought more, not less. So, why then would Kowalski or any other veteran have anything to atone for, especially to that racial group? It just seemed to have more than a whiff of Hollywood self-loathing.

And, in practical terms, Clint's character chose a course of action that was far less certain in its outcome than the course that we wanted him to take. In other words, just for an ostentatious display of self-sacrifice, Kowalski chose a method that was far less certain to protect his neighbors than the straight-forward method, so how is it more noble?