Take it for what it is.

Rating: Null/10 (23 September 2003)

First of all I would like to say that AHX is a very good movie. It has good actors, good suspense and an interesting premise. I don't have to praise the acting job of Edward Norton on here because it has already been done enough. The other actors including Edward Furlong also do a pretty decent job. But like I said, take it for what it is, A GOOD "MOVIE". A good movie can consist of two elements that makes it "Good". One of these is good entertainment(which this movie is) and very unrealistic(which this movie is).
First let me tell you that racism is a very real problem in this country(USA) and in most places all over the world. Myself being a Black man in America knows all too well the reality of blatant and subtle racism. So I give this "MOVIE" some credit for touching on the subject. But my biggest complaint about this "MOVIE" is how unrealistic it truly is.

Let me begin. First of all, skinheads in America are not seen as much of a threat in American reality as they are portrayed to be in this film. Tell the avarage American Black, White, Brown, whatever that "the Skinheads are on the move" and they'll just shrug their shoulders and go about their business. This film tries to portray the Skinheads as much as a threat as say, the Klan in the post civil war South up until the Civil Rights Movement. Now that Klan, in that time period, was indeed a very realistic threat to Blacks and anyone who opposed them. This "MOVIE" tries to portray the skinheads in this same light(or dark) and it just doesn't work for me.
*Possible Spoilers*
Second of all. The basketball scene(as said by other commenters) has to be one of the most unrealistic scenes in the history of Hollywood. A bunch of skinheads driving a bunch of supposedly hardcore gangbangers off the court would, NEVER, NEVER, EVER, HAPPEN!!! If you have ever been to L.A. you would know that this is a rediculous scene. I mean a lot of the gang infested areas of L.A. have a lot of police wary to go in them. What do you think gangbangers would do to some skinheads? Especially skinheads who are using the N-Word so fluenty. Exactly. I just was hoping for a "Don't try this at home" warning to flash across the bottom of the screen.

Third thing that bothered me was the depiction of prison. Here we see Derek Vinyard and his skinhead buddies skipping through prison like it was an amusement park. Like they are highly represented diplomats, conducting business and going about their merry little ways. Now most of us know that most major prisons of the country are not like this. Whites in most major prisons have very small numbers. The prison system population is dominated by Blacks and Hispanics(unfortunately). The most believable comment was made by Guy Torrey when he said "In here, your the n***a". In the real world, in most prison situations, Derek and his merry men wouldn't stand a chance if the sh*t hit the fan. And Guy Torrey's character putting his life on the line for Derek, I'm just not buying that.
The last thing I will elaborate on is the skinhead party scene(just shaking my head). Ok, so we have King Derek(with his god like status) just march into the skinhead leader's office(Cameron), kick the living sh*t out of him, and just waltz out. Ok, he had a gun. But do you mean to tell me that none of the other 150 or so skinheads had guns? If these skinheads were truly the great threat to society this movie wants us to believe they are then Derek would have went home in pieces. This scene just has me at a loss for words(almost as much as the basketball scene). I was thinking to myself, "who is this guy, Derek Matrix".
I have to disagree with some of the commenters that the last scene with Edward Furlong's character being shot, was over the top, uncalled for, and unrealistic. Yeah all he did was blow smoke in the guys face. But look all over this country today and kids are killing kids in schools all the time for less offenses. Bullying and being a part of a different social group come to mind. So that can and does happen. The proof is in the pudding.
But for what it is, a "MOVIE", it is very good and entertaining. It did it's job, it kept me watching with anticipation.
Like I said earlier in my review, racism is very real, and it needs to be delt with. I give this movie thumbs up for trying to deal with the issue. If they just could have done it in a more realistic way this film could have been more than just a film.