MovieChat Forums > Gran Torino (2009) Discussion > I would have killed them all

I would have killed them all


Those idiots will eventually get out of jail, he should have killed them all and then gone to confession, then jail.

Just saying.

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Gang members using automatic weapons murdering an unarmed senior citizen standing on public property in view of witnesses.

How exactly are they going to get out of prison? 

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Alleged gang members. That still won't prevent them from claiming self defense, since he came to them and they thought he was reaching for his gun. This is the US remember, the country with the most retarded legal system on the planet. Even if their weapons are illegal they can still claim self defense.

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Alleged gang members.


Assuming you aren't using the "legal" aspect of "alleged", they are gang members. They are known for that. When they go to trial, there will be no issue with showing their involvement.

That still won't prevent them from claiming self defense, since he came to them and they thought he was reaching for his gun.


They can claim that all they want. They can claim Walt paid them to rape Sue. Do you think any of that will hold up in court?

Again, Walt was standing on public property. If anyone heard what he said, it wasn't threatening. He had a cigarette in his mouth, was talking about getting a light, reached into his jacket and grabbed his lighter - and they shot him. They have witnesses to these actions.

The police found no weapon of any kind on him. He's an elderly man with a half-dozen young thugs threatening HIM. The DA will successfully argue that Walt was no threat to the thugs and they murdered him.

So, yes. I agree the US has an effed up legal system. But, in this case, an elderly man with no weapon, not saying anything threatening is shot down by gang members using illegal weapons while standing on public property is a slam-dunk for the DA.

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They can claim that, sure. It's one of those times the jury system will work like a charm. "*beep* gangs. 2x life. Bye!"

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They can CLAIM self defense. It wouldn't work. The US legal system can be stupid but there's no way they got out of this. They didn't just shoot Walt, an unarmed old man. They unloaded on him.

Where was the self defense anyways? An old man reaches into his pocket for a lighter, so that means it's okay to shoot him? Sure, WE know they thought Walt would have a gun on him, but the police don't know that. Walt is just a regular old man to them. If Walt had a gun on him, then maybe they'd get away with self defense. But with him being unarmed, they don't.

Also, there's no way Walt could have killed them all. Walt was tough, but he was also old and sick, and was facing 6 armed thugs with automatic weapons who were expecting him to come. If Walt had tried to kill them, maybe he could have gotten one or two if he somehow managed to surprise them, but then he'd have been gunned down.

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I don't see why the locals would finally speak up and be witnesses when they hadn't in the past. The girl was brutally raped and would not tell the police who did it. So I don't see how he could go and sacrifice himself thinking that the the gang bangers would suffer the consequences. I know I would have lit the building on fire and shot the thugs as they ran out.

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Sue didn't know who it was from the group so unless they got DNA samples from everyone in the gang - and the rapist was still there - they wouldn't be able to pin it on anyone.

So I don't see how he could go and sacrifice himself thinking that the the gang bangers would suffer the consequences.


Because it would be done in public and murder is worse than rape. For him getting shot in public, on public property, without a weapon present would p!ss off the cops and community enough that everyone is going go after the gang.

I know I would have lit the building on fire and shot the thugs as they ran out.


Well, if he were able to sneak around and get close enough to the building without getting caught, light the fire and make sure they ONLY come out one door and not back or side door, or jump off the balcony or such, then I suppose that could work.

Of course, that also means that you didn't understand the movie and what Walt was talking about. He didn't want to kill anyone. He felt great remorse for having killed during war. If he does what you wanted, even if he takes them all out, Walt can look like the bad-guy in some people's eyes and/or the gang can look like "innocents."

By giving his life up, no one can say, "Those were good boys; they just got mixed up with the wrong crowd." The gang is getting arrested, there is no way they are making bail, and they will be in jail for a long, long time.

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The locals viewed Walt as a hero, and he knew that. He was counting on it, and, according to the cop, he was right.

Seeing the gang gun down their unarmed hero was the last straw, just as Walt hoped it would be.

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What do you mean 'according to the cop'? What did the cop say?

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Here's the scene, with subtitles:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6egwy8GgA7s

Officer Chang was apparently Hmong, and he explained how Walt had gone for his lighter, "didn't even have a gun," and more importantly that there were "lots of witnesses" this time.

The neighbors had always been uncooperative with the police before. But they apparently changed their minds after seeing Walt, their hero, get gunned down while unarmed.

It was the ultimate victory for Walt - he beat the gang and he beat his own demons. In a way, he also beat the cancer or whatever he had that was killing him.

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Thank you very much!

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My thoughts exactly

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And how would he have killed them all

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When he showed up and just casually started talking to them I totally thought he already planted some sort of bomb or distance detonator around the perimeter and that is why he had such a cavalier attitude about the whole thing. (or he was wearing a bulletproof vest). Would have been cool.

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He was cavalier because he knew he was dying anyway. So no bulletproof vest needed. If anything it was a way to go out quickly and mercifully rather than dying a slow painful death of whatever disease was killing him. And accomplish something necessary in the process.

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That is a good way of looking at it.

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That's not how confession works, even if you lie to the priest, if it doesn't meet all 4 requirements it's not valid, in this instance, that would be contrition.

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Keyboard warriors. Sigh.

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Walt's behavior the entire time he was present doesn't legally justify physical action against him. Much less lethal force. It's not even illegal. Not very nice, maybe. Notice that he never even entered their lawn. He stayed on the sidewalk, which is public property. They stepped outside to confront him, already armed, and with fully automatic weapons, no less. That right there is a felony, possession of those. And would probably count as premeditation too. And the number of times they shot him...no way could they claim self-defense with that many rounds used (excessive force). Add to that the rape of the young woman, shooting up Thao's house earlier in the drive-by shooting. Yep. They were so cooked. They'd be lucky to get out of prison when they were at least as old as Walt himself.

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