Review of Law Abiding Citizen (2009) by Paul S — 06 Jan 2015

I give this a solid 4 stars. This is far from a perfect movie, but decent enough to watch it. The premise is what really got me to watch. A father losing his wife and daughter before his eyes is a terrifying proposition to me.

I really felt Gerard Butler's performance. There is a court scene in this movie where he successfully argues to the judge that he deserves to post bail, then he proceeds to berate the living daylights out of her for being so stupid.

I loved this scene. This movie passed a point about half way to 3/4 of the way through where it became overly preposterous. There are lots of twists and turns which I won't share. There are many shocking moments.

Jamie Foxx is an exceptional talent. Great job here. I almost never go back to watch scenes again, but I watched the one court scene where Gerard goes off several times. I "get" that moment in court when the character is berating the judge for her absolute hypocritical stupidity.

I didn't appreciate the revenge beyond the actual men who hurt his family. The justice system is horrible, but this man's actions beyond the actual killers of his family would theoretically disgrace the memory of his daughter and wife.

Nonetheless, good movie. Not quite great though.