Review of Law Abiding Citizen (2009) by Chris H — 25 Nov 2012

A Man?s family is killed in front of him, when a plea bargain sets one of the killers free he takes matters into his own hands to exact revenge on both the killer and the D.A?s office that set him free.

Gerard Butler Stars as Clyde a C.I.A ?Brain? who is attacked with his family in the house, after being overpowered he witnesses the two intruders murder his wife and daughter in front of him. Ten years after the murders he is told by Assistant D.A Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx) that rather than taking the case to trial a plea bargain has been made. Nick tells Clyde that ?some justice is better than no justice? Although the real reason is Nick doesn?t want to jeopardize his conviction rate. After the Plea Clyde witnesses the murderer shaking Nick?s hand which sets off Clyde to enact a plan to bring down the system that set the killer free.

The first eighty percent of the movie is pretty good it?s interesting to see Clyde get his revenge and put his plan into place. Clyde is very similar to Jigsaw from the saw movies with his killings trying to teach a lesson to Nick. Clyde?s plan involves some cleverness and ingenuity but at the same time he isn?t afraid to get his hands dirty ala a porterhouse bone shanking to the neck of an inmate. Clyde is a great Anti-Hero, we learn that he was a C.I.A ?Brain? whose job it was to figure out how to kill people that were too protected to be killed traditionally; ?If Clyde wants you dead then you?re dead? the C.I.A agent says and for the first 80% of the movie he was right. Clyde has a plan and is always a step ahead of everyone else. With that much of the movie invested in Clyde you begin to root for him nobody in the D.A?s office is likeable and Clyde was wronged, you buy into Clyde?s revenge and his ability to outthink everyone.

The ending of the movie is complete crap and ruins the first 80%, the way that Nick figures everything out feels cheap and you believe Clyde would have known this; it goes completely against everything that was being built up. There were a million endings they could have gone with and from a movie claiming something biblical would happen you expect an ending that would deliver more. If I left before the last half hour I would gladly recommend this unfortunately I stayed.

I should have realized that this movie would be crap Jamie Foxx should change his stage name to ?The Trash Man? it seems like he is content to consistently deliver Garbage every chance he gets. He is a male version of Jennifer Lopez and there career parallels are eerily similar, both worked on In Living Color both think they can sing, both think they are a lot better than they really are, And both make Dogshit Movies.