Directed by:
F. Gary GrayScreenplay:
Kurt WimmerCinematography:
Jonathan SelaComposer:
Brian TylerCast:
Gerard Butler, Jamie Foxx, Viola Davis, Leslie Bibb, Regina Hall, Bruce McGill, Colm Meaney, Michael Irby, Gregory Itzin, Josh Stewart, Richard Portnow (more)VOD (4)
Plots(1)
Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) is an upstanding family man whose wife and daughter are brutally murdered during a home invasion. When the killers are caught, Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx), a hotshot Philadelphia prosecutor, is assigned to the case. Nick offers one of the suspects a light sentence in exchange for testifying against his accomplice. Fast forward ten years. The man who got away with murder is found dead and Clyde Shelton coolly admits his guilt. Then he issues a warning to Nick: Either fix the flawed justice system that failed his family, or key players in the trial will die. Soon Shelton follows through on his threats, orchestrating from his jail cell a string of spectacularly diabolical assassinations that can be neither predicted nor prevented. Philadelphia is gripped with fear as Shelton’s high-profile targets are slain one after another and the authorities are powerless to halt his reign of terror. Only Nick can stop the killing, and to do so he must outwit this brilliant sociopath in a harrowing contest of wills in which even the smallest misstep means death. With his own family now in Shelton’s crosshairs, Nick finds himself in a desperate race against time facing a deadly adversary who seems always to be one step ahead. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (12)
The fusion of classic "revenge movies" with modern hi-tech toys promised all sorts of things, only to fall short of the promise itself. This is due to Gray’s routinization, which doesn't exceed the scope of the trailer in terms of action. Additionally, Wimmer's thought castration tries to combine themes of revenge (on whom and why?), the indictment of the judicial system, and family drama so clumsily and desperately that I now suspect the editor of sabotage, resulting in half an hour of footage disappearing into the void. The film has no gradation, no logical progression, and no tension to speak of. There are just a couple of crashing cars, a gloomy Butler (a good thing), a slimy Foxx (the last good thing), and the status of the year's greatest missed opportunity.
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Wimmer's screenplay isn't particularly great, but it’s central idea is really good. Moreover, the excellent Gerard Butler immediately got not only to me, but also to my sister, and we were on his side throughout the whole movie. Personally I understood why he was doing it. Hell, I'd do the same thing. Unfortunately, the closer we get to the conclusion, the more the creators make him a negative character so that they could slip into an established template. Not that this suddenly makes the whole movie bad, it just takes a certain aura away from Butler. Something is stolen from the film that could have made it an unforgettable spectacle. It's not what you know, Clyde. It's what you can prove in court.
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An above average and thoughtful film led by the talented Gerard Butler. I was glowing and gobbling it up the entire time. I was a bit more disappointed with the ending. It's happened a few times before that a brilliant film has been brought down by a pointlessly simple ending. This is a prime example. Otherwise, Butler is great again! He handles every genre with aplomb. 4.5 stars.
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Imagine a drunk fan watching a football match and forgetting who he is cheering for. At least that’s how Gray's film seemed to me. It tries to look very serious, but as a result ends up with proven truths and clichés. A well-creased punk who drinks coca-cola while dreaming of absolute anarchy. But if I think away from the really poor imitation of playing with the motif of system corruption, then this is quite a suitable thriller. Neither Butler nor Fox give us anything more than we are used to seeing, Gray is gracefully satisfactory, and Law Abiding Citizen rides more on a wave of positive impressions. If only the film sometimes didn't pretend to be a smarty-pants and didn't act like a glued monkey...
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A solid thriller, extremely suspenseful from start to finish. We can thank for this the idea, which managed to turn even the classic theme of revenge into a fresh and unique spectacle, as well as the two actors (Butler's "daddy" really isn't a good guy, Foxx's prosecutor beautifully gropes between what is right and what is wrong), the direction and the music. However, some of the moments seen in Law Abiding Citizen (in its second half) did not seem to me the least bit realistic, or even feasible in a normal universe. Otherwise - a really good film.
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