Very good movie? yes. Instant classic? no.

Rating: 7/10 (15 February 2011)

This is a response to some negative reviews. Some people were wondering how Derek, a supposedly smart kid was influenced only by his dad's one remark. Though the movie did not explicitly say this, I believe it is after his father died that he met Cameron, who became a father figure to Derek, and with his constant propaganda began to change Derek's mind and overwhelm the opinions of his family. Another question is why the African-American kid kills Danny at the end for seemingly nothing but blowing smoke in his face. Again it is implied that this is not their first interaction, and with Danny's opinions probably made very public, there was probably growing tensions between them, that with the smoke just put him over the edge, not to mention the African-American kid was also in a gang that was probably fighting with the white supremacist group Danny and Derek were a part of. This gang was also probably responsible for trying to kill Cameron and Seth at the end. Also, the "change of heart" that Derek had did not take place in 2 days like some reviewers are saying. Remember that Derek saw dealings he didn't like between his group and the minority groups in prison, this lead to tensions between him and the group which lead to him being raped in the shower. This combined with the growing relationship between him and the African-American he was working with and Sweeney's guidance were all factors in changing his attitude. Remember this was based on a true story so these events are not all bullshit. I do agree that some of the editing and stylistic choices weren't the best (ie the slow motion and could have explained things more clearly with more scenes). However it was still a very powerful movie.