Law Abiding Citizen Staff Review
Sometimes movies come and go in the theater within a blink of an eye. This was such the case with Law Abiding Citizen.
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 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.
While Law Abiding Citizen will never go down as a "must see film" in the pages of history, it does have it's moments.
The plot, written by Kurt Wimmer (Equilibrium, Ultraviolet), is pretty as he portrays his usual fan fair of a corrupt fallible movement; however, under the skillful direction of F. Gary Gray (The Italian Job), and the acting skills of Gerald Butler and Jamie Fox, Law Abiding is actually a half-way decent film.
While at first glance, all of the violence in the film seems unnecessary, it does help get across the message that Wimmer and F. Gary Gray are trying to get across to the audience -- that the judicial system in this country is not always what it is cracked up to be.
The DVD video and audio quality of Overture Film's Law Abiding Citizen is pretty much standard. Grain and noise is hardly visible, while the soundtrack is crisp and clear. The extras included on the DVD contain an audio commentary, Featuring Producers Lucas Foster and Alan Siegel, and a few small featurettes on the film, and it's theatrical trailer.
If your looking for a good revenge film with a bit of a message, then Law Abiding System is a good film to see. If you are in the mood for lighter fair, then I suggest you skip it.
--Nathan M Rose
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