Review of Law Abiding Citizen (2009) by George X — 26 Mar 2012

A film can cast Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx and dress itself up all it likes as a serious thriller but Law Abiding Citizen eventually boils down to being a horror movie that doesn't want to admit what it is to itself and ends up failing for it.

Butler's wife and child are killed during a home invasion and due to lack of evidence and the justice system of America, the culprit is allowed to walk free, much to the disgust of hot shot attorney Jamie Foxx. Ten years later Butler begins his revenge on those who were involved in the case.

Law Abiding Citizen isn't the first movie to cast its lead as an anti-hero on a mission of payback but if that is going to work then we at least need to feel some sort of empathy with the character. Butler doesn't convey that at all. Yes, we feel sorry for him as he lost his wife and child but once he's dealt with the main offenders and turns his attention to those lesser involved in his disappointment, he seems like he's just doing it to be clever rather than for reasons an audience can get behind. His gorno style traps seem to be designed for the film to show just how clever it is and to try and squeeze in a bunch of ideas for killing off people that the writer had, rather than further proving his point. The film might have worked better if they'd reversed stuff a bit and had him working up to the primary executions as it may have at least kept us on his side and shown a more interesting side to the story.

His relationship with Foxx feels forced and they don't gel together at all. Neither man is the worlds most watchable actor but they could have done better than this. The film seems to ramble becoming ever more implausible (under ground tunnels that no one has notice for years? Really?) until a conclusion comes which feels as though it's been included as a way to finish the film quickly. It doesn't provide any sort of resolution for Foxx, Butler or the viewer.

Some of the death scenes are relatively amusing and the twists are welcome, even if they are some times far fetched. There are some good ideas at work here, they've just been put into the wrong movie. In one of the Saw films, they'd be right at home and probably help make for a picture a great deal better than this one.