4. Julian Agrees To Assassinate Chang - Only God Forgives
The Decision: When Chang learns that Crystal (Kristin Scott Thomas) has ordered a hit on his life, Crystal asks her rogue son Julian (Ryan Gosling) to terminate Chang first, and ensure her safety. He willfully obliges.
Why It's Stupid: The plan, however, ultimately doesn't extend to just killing Chang, but murdering his entire family, including his wife and young daughter. Associate Charlie kills the wife, but Julian kills Charlie before he can kill the innocent daughter. Meanwhile, instead of keeping his mother's back, Julian leaves her wide open, allowing Chang to enter her apartment and murder her with a sword. The final scene of the film shows Julian being led out into a forest and (presumably) having his hands chopped off, all in the name of balance (one could argue that his saving the daughter is why Chang spared his life). So, for all of his trouble, what did Julian's revenge quest really accomplish? His mother died and he'll never be able to juggle again. Fantastic.