The legal thriller meets the serial-killer shocker in Law Abiding Citizen. The story begins when home invaders kill Clyde Shelton’s wife and daughter. The bereaved father (played by a thoroughly unsympathetic Gerard Butler) looks to slick Philly prosecutor Nick Rice (a low-key Jamie Foxx) to see that they receive the maximum sentence. Instead, the murderer, Ames, testifies against his accomplice, Darby, who gets the chair, while he gets 10 years. Upon his release, Ames’ mutilate Read more…
March 3rd, 2010 on 5:26 pm
This review is from: Law Abiding Citizen [Theatrical Release] (Theatrical Release)
“Law Abiding Citizen,” the new thriller with Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx, is an interesting revenge thriller that takes the viewer to some unexpected places and provokes thoughtful conversations and introspection. Regardless of any drawbacks that the film may have, and it is certainly not perfect, it makes valid points about the sometimes arbitrary nature of the criminal justice system. Gerard Butler stars as an engineer whose seemingly peaceful life is shattered when two men break into his house, injure him, and kill his wife and daughter. Grieving, but obviously believing that his case is clear cut, he is stunned when the young assistant DA prosecuting the case, played by Jamie Foxx, makes a deal that allows a reduced sentence for the killer of the wife and child in exchange for his testimony against the other man. Ten years later, as the man convicted of murder is facing lethal injection, Butler’s long-planned revenge plot begins to unfold. We find out that Butler is not who he has seemed to be, and that the now senior assistant DA Foxx has his hand full with a clever resourceful advesary. This film is not for the squeamish, has several shocks and surprises, and is meditative and thoughtful. It is a suprisingly good thriller considering how bad it could have been with a lesser cast, script, and direction.
March 3rd, 2010 on 8:43 pm
This movie was a lot better than I had expected. To me, it was like a mix of ‘Saw’ and ‘Max Payne. Gerard Butler does an awesome job as a psychotic man with nothing to lose. Ten years after a home invasion that leaves his wife and daughter dead, Clyde Shelton returns to seek true justice. I love when he dismembers the man who murdered them. When Clyde is sent to jail, people are still dying in mysterious ways, and Nick Rice tries to stop it. When Rice interrogates Clyde, he wants something in return such as his iPod, and a steak. Soon, nobody feels safe leaving their homes, because they don’t know where or when Clyde will strike next. Does he have an accomplice? I highly recommend LAW ABIDING CITIZEN!!!