17. A Kid Guns Down Danny For Smoking American History X
You might wonder why I havent put the curbstomp scene in as the entry of American History X, and to be fair you might have a point. It is an overreaction, even for a hardened racist man finds two people attempting to jack his car, guns one down and breaks the others face by making him bite down on the pavement. Yet it isnt up here because I believe Dannys death scene to be even more of an overreaction on the part of his murderer. Its an effective ending, utterly shocking and completely out of nowhere and made all the more gutting by just how unnecessary it all was. Danny only gets shot because he blew smoke in the guys face the day before, a massive overreaction which left the audience utterly devastated. It was a wild overreaction, and that was sort of the point Danny, despite his bravado, was the most innocent cast member and he was killed for the most innocuous thing. Even if he wasnt prepared to turn the other cheek, there were plenty of other paths his murderer couldve taken after the smoke-blowing incident. He couldve insulted or punched him, but instead he gunned him down in a urinal. It was grim, and there was a reason a lot of people hated this ending It all seemed so unnecessary. Out of everybody who probably deserved a reprisal in the film Cameron, Seth and even Derek, the punishment is exacted upon Dereks little brother, who had actively changed before it was too late.