The bad guy always gets killed or those he? Law Abiding Citizen stars Gerard Butler as Clyde Shelton who has to endure his wife and child being raped and killed in front of him by 2 burglars. Jamie Foxx plays Nick Rice who’s the legal department justice person. So after the the horrific Shelton family slaughter, only one of the bad guys gets the death penalty with the other getting a prison sentence. All this happens after Rice cuts a deal, much to the disappointment of Shelton, and quite understandably so.
From here on in, the guy that got the prison sentence eventually gets out after 10 years and its from here the movie continues. Mr.Bad guy meets with Shelton, a box cutter and an electric saw. And slowly but surely Shelton starts popping off judges and officers one by one as he is still upset with the justice department. He manages this from his comfy prison cell after he gets put away for the electric saw incident.
In between a few more deals which include steak and a fancy mattress, we learn what Shelton actually is and then he ends up in Solitary after using his steak for more than eating. From here, the story throws a few twists at you and the body count racks up as the movie rolls along to its exciting ending.
Law Abiding Citizen has a solid cast and solid performances but none of them are Oscar worthy. Gerard Butler plays the role of a scorned man quite well. He show’s little or no emotion after the family slaughter and has zero contempt for the legal system. That said, he’s not an instantly likeable character as you don’t feel a great deal of sympathy for him. This is routed in the fact that the actual murder and rape scene are more or less like a 15 second montage which isn’t exactly as graphic as it sounds. If that particular scene was extended to some degree I feel it would have added to the story and indeed made the viewer have more of a connection and sympathy with Butler. Foxx is solid here as well, again not an instantly likeable character, as a matter of fact you’ll spend most of the movie thinking he’s a self centred pig, which is testament to his performance. Colm Meany is here as well and turns in the usual Meany performance, solid as ever. At 109 minutes, this film trundles along quite nicely and is well shot. Theres a few tense moments to boot, including one great scene with a judge a mobile phone!
The story is well written, the idea isn’t bad either but we’ve seen a million revenge movies. Either way though, Law Abiding Citizen is an enjoyable thriller and while it’s not one of the years biggest movies, it certainly is worth a watch!
From here on in, the guy that got the prison sentence eventually gets out after 10 years and its from here the movie continues. Mr.Bad guy meets with Shelton, a box cutter and an electric saw. And slowly but surely Shelton starts popping off judges and officers one by one as he is still upset with the justice department. He manages this from his comfy prison cell after he gets put away for the electric saw incident. In between a few more deals which include steak and a fancy mattress, we learn what Shelton actually is and then he ends up in Solitary after using his steak for more than eating. From here, the story throws a few twists at you and the body count racks up as the movie rolls along to its exciting ending.
Law Abiding Citizen has a solid cast and solid performances but none of them are Oscar worthy. Gerard Butler plays the role of a scorned man quite well. He show’s little or no emotion after the family slaughter and has zero contempt for the legal system. That said, he’s not an instantly likeable character as you don’t feel a great deal of sympathy for him. This is routed in the fact that the actual murder and rape scene are more or less like a 15 second montage which isn’t exactly as graphic as it sounds. If that particular scene was extended to some degree I feel it would have added to the story and indeed made the viewer have more of a connection and sympathy with Butler. Foxx is solid here as well, again not an instantly likeable character, as a matter of fact you’ll spend most of the movie thinking he’s a self centred pig, which is testament to his performance. Colm Meany is here as well and turns in the usual Meany performance, solid as ever. At 109 minutes, this film trundles along quite nicely and is well shot. Theres a few tense moments to boot, including one great scene with a judge a mobile phone!
The story is well written, the idea isn’t bad either but we’ve seen a million revenge movies. Either way though, Law Abiding Citizen is an enjoyable thriller and while it’s not one of the years biggest movies, it certainly is worth a watch!
