 Tagline: They killed his family. Now justice is his vengeance. 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 young Philadelphia prosecutor, is assigned to the case. Over his objections, Nick is forced by his boss to offer 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 admits his guilt. Then he issues a warning to Nick: Either fix the flawed justice system, 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. Only Nick can stop the killing and finds himself in a desperate race against time facing a deadly adversary who seems always to be one step ahead. Storyline: Clyde Shelton's family is brutally murdered. The ones responsible are caught. However, because of improper procedure, the D.A., Nick Rice only has circumstantial evidence. So he decides to get one of them to testify against the other. When Shelton learns of this, he is not happy. Ten years later, the one who was convicted is being executed but something goes wrong; his execution goes awry and he suffers. They learn that someone tampered with the machine. And the other one is found dead, killed in a gruesome manner. Rice suspects Shelton, so he has him picked up. At first, Shelton agrees to a plea agreement with Rice but changes his mind. It appears that Shelton is not done, it appears he blames the whole system and is declaring war on it going after everyone involved with his family's case. So Rice has to stop him but Shelton is way ahead of him. Written by rcs0411@yahoo.com Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman, January 28, 2010 -- You can't fight fate. Imagine Saw meets "Prison Break," and that's a pretty solid basis for discussing Law Abiding Citizen. Though the concept appears on paper as something that's fairly far-fetched and even borderline absurd, Director F. Gary Gray's (The Negotiator) film really does work on several levels thanks to a complexly-detailed yet audience-accessible script, solid acting, and an excellent pace. On the other hand, there's plenty of opportunity along the way to discard the picture; it's often exciting and riveting, but at the same time a tremendous amount of suspension of disbelief is required to get through all of it. That was certainly the case with both the Saw franchise and the "Prison Break" series, and it's no surprise, then, that that caveat carries over to Law Abiding Citizen. Still, considering the longevity of Saw and the popularity of Prison Break, it's clear that audiences are willing to accept logically-flawed concepts in favor of high drama and good storytelling, two areas from which Law Abiding Citizen derives much of its strength. Family man Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler, Gamer) has survived a home invasion, but his wife and daughter were not as fortunate. Though the two assailants -- Clarence Darby (Christian Stolte) and Rupert Ames (Josh Stewart) -- have been identified by Shelton, prosecutor Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx, Collateral) has chosen to forego prosecuting both, using Darby as a witness against Ames, even though Shelton insists it was Darby that actually killed his family. Nevertheless, Rice wins his case, and Ames is sentenced to death. Ten years later, Ames is executed for his crimes, though his injection does not go according to plan, delivering him an extended and painful death. Police suspect Darby, who evades the authorities with the help of a mysterious voice on the other end of his cell phone. Darby soon discovers that the voice belongs to Shelton, who subsequently immobilizes, tortures, and kills his family's murderer. However, Shelton's quest for vengeance doesn't stop with Ames and Darby; he's out to teach Rice the meaning of right and wrong and the importance of going after the criminal element at all costs, not when it's expedient or a slam-dunk case to ensure the maintenance of a nearly-flawless conviction rate. As Shelton continues to get the best of Rice, the city of Philadelphia finds itself on edge as a high-profile killer remains on the loose -- even if he's somehow managing to kill from the confines of his prison cell. Though certainly not an exceptional picture, Law Abiding Citizen nevertheless works as a form of sheer entertainment that does require a bit of thought to accept and understand its rather involved story. This isn't simply a regurgitated Police Procedural or Legal Thriller; Law Abiding Citizen offers viewers something that's fairly new and unique, and the sheen never wears off through a picture that delivers everything from high drama to intense gore. At its center, however, is a well-paced and smartly-woven story that slowly reveals its secrets in the midst of chaos and confusion, the film constructing layer upon layer of mystery and fear as viewers become privy to a city thrown into chaos and a mastermind out for vengeance and succeeding at every turn, even from inside prison walls. One of the picture's strengths lies in its ability to continue to surprise with new angles and revelations as it moves along; just when it seems that, perhaps, Clyde Shelton's quest for vengeance has been satisfied or his master plan thwarted, he unravels another layer that keeps the picture's intensity high and suspense quotient impeccable. There's always an abundance of surprises, genuine jump scares, and even plenty of doubt as to how the film will conclude considering the seemingly unending barrage of curveballs and change-ups tossed at the audience throughout. Additionally, Law Abiding Citizen serves up a pair of fine performances. Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler demonstrate good chemistry together, and make for a fine protagonist/antagonist pairing, accentuated by both characters demonstrating their own strengths and weaknesses and, more importantly, some degree of character flaw but also a hard-headed steadfastness towards their approach to solving the film's dilemmas. While Foxx's character isn't quite as dimensional as Butler's and more of a standard-fare -- though flawed -- Hollywood hero, Butler's Clyde Shelton seems every bit the match for Actor Tobin Bell's John Kramer character in the Saw pictures. Butler opens the film as a believable -- if not somewhat wimpy -- father figure that seems as harmless as his daughter's makeshift jewelry craft projects. As the film moves along, Butler shows a range that makes his character into something of a sympathetic vigilante, a vulnerable but determined man with nothing to live for but justice and nothing to lose except for the lifeblood that flows through his body, his truer essence having perished along with his wife and daughter. As the film progresses and his quest for vengeance turns into a game of demented pain and vast revenge, he morphs into a bigger, seemingly more dangerous shell of his former self. With every step, Butler plays the character with a believable and altogether fascinating edge, making his one of the more complex and engrossing characters of the past several years. Law Abiding Citizen is a smart, innovative Thriller that's wholly implausible but nevertheless a whole lot of fun. It's Saw with less violence and a bit more of a focused structure and brain power, and even though much of the film plays out with an absurdity that's hard to ignore, the picture works as sheer and imaginative entertainment that's good enough to keep the audience guessing and immersed in a topsy-turvy world of deliciously-realized improbabilities. Rounded out by slick direction and solid acting, Law Abiding Citizen won't be up for a host of Oscars but it's certainly good enough to enjoy as a thinking man's Horror/Thriller delight. This Starz/Anchor Bay Blu-ray release of Law Abiding Citizen offers a technically strong video transfer, a fine lossless soundtrack, two versions of the film spread across two discs, and a fair helping of extras. As the film doesn't offer much in the way of extensive replay value, general audiences may best be served with a rental, but buyers can rest assured that this Blu-ray release of Law Abiding Citizen features no deal-breaking flaws. Trivia:
[CSW] - The ending was great from a tactician's point of view but Jamie Foxx did not portray the concern, anxiety and fear that his character should have felt when subjected to the frustrating, terrifying, and horrendous pressures that were applied to him - it was that close to being a classic. Cast Notes: Jamie Foxx (Nick Rice), Gerard Butler (Clyde Shelton), Colm Meaney (Detective Dunnigan), Bruce McGill (Jonas Cantrell), Leslie Bibb (Sarah Lowell), Michael Irby (Detective Garza), Gregory Itzin (Warden Iger), Regina Hall (Kelly Rice), Emerald-Angel Young (Denise Rice), Christian Stolte (Clarence Darby), Annie Corley (Judge Laura Burch), Richard Portnow (Bill Reynolds), Viola Davis (Mayor), Michael Kelly (Bray), Josh Stewart (Rupert Ames). IMDb Rating (11/20/14): 7.4/10 from 182,859 users IMDb Rating (02/16/10): 7.3/10 from 22,343 users
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