The Butler Serves Up Some Serious Revenge In Law Abiding Citizen
Written: Nov 10 '09
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Bang For The Buck |
 |
|
|
Pros: Butler is excellent, good action, intriguing plot, nice surprises
Cons: Violence can be oft-putting, unrealistic
The Bottom Line: Law Abiding Citizen is an entertaining and suspenseful thriller that is more complicated than one might expect from a standard revenge film.
|
|
|
| chad8246's Full Review: Law Abiding Citizen |
Sometimes fun and logic doesn't go hand in hand when it comes to motion pictures. While a film may be completely authentic or realistic it's quite possible that it could be as boring as watching paint dry. Other times, if you throw logic out the window, the film will be endlessly entertaining. A good movie tries to balance these aspects most of the time. However, there are those times when caution is thrown to the wind and the filmmaker just tries to make an entertaining film. When in comes to Law Abiding Citizen, it's clear it's was just made to entertain. And, entertain it does.
Law Abiding Citizen is a revenge thriller staring Jamie Fox as Assistant District Attorney Nick Rice and Gerard Butler as suffering husband/father Clyde Shelton. Clyde witnessed his wife and child being murdered during a home invasion. Rice was the prosecuting attorney on the case. While there was no doubt who the perpetrators were, the evidence was a bit thin in the case. As a result, while one murderer was sentenced to die, the other was given a short prison sentence based on his testimony. Clyde thought this was a miscarriage of justice and while initially accepting the decision, it was clear he didn't approve of it.
Ten years later, Rupert Ames (Jose Stewart) is finally going to be executing for the crime. But, the execution goes horribly wrong. While he still ends up dead, the chemicals are tempered with and it becomes an extremely painful event. As Rice was a witness to the execution, he's immediately on the case. He, along with the police, immediately assume Ames' accomplice, Darby (Christian Stolte) is responsible. Needless to say, that's not the case. Quickly, Shelton's plan is found out. That plan? To take vengeance on all of those guilty of letting the killers go free.
I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed Law Abiding Citizen. It's an immensely entertaining film with some great performances, intriguing plot and some genuinely shocking moments. It is however, an adult film. Now, I don't mean like "bow chicka wow wow" adult, I mean a film with adult themes and situations. It's definitely not for kids or even for those adults who can get a bit squeamish at times. But, this isn't one of those torture porn films like Hostel. It's simply a film that raises serious issues with equally serious solutions (or reactions) to those situations.
The premise of Law Abiding Citizen has been done several times in the past. Revenge is nothing new to films. It's been done with all out vengeance like in Man On Fire, or a little more subtly like in The Godfather. Here, however, in Law Abiding Citizen it's done a little differently. At times, you sympathize with Shelton during his quest. He was certainly wronged by the system, although not completely. Is his vengeance justified? Somewhat. Taking his wrath out on the actual criminals that killed his family certainly makes sense (in movie world), but the advancement of that wrath is where the dilemma occurs. It hardly seems justifiable to attack attorneys or judges involved in the case. That dilemma is what makes the film so interesting. Is he an honorable father or a misguided terrorist?
The glue that holds the film together is Gerard Butler's performance. He's a rather new face to me. But, that stems from the fact that I haven't seen 300 or many of his other "serious" roles. I've only seen him in his recent romantic comedies. While those films leave a lot to be desired, I have always liked him. Here, in Law Abiding Citizen, he is wonderful. He plays the tortured soul and intelligent mastermind spectacularly. It takes a special actor that is able to pull off some of the outlandish schemes that his character manages to perform. Yes, many of those are rather unrealistic, but I do think the film actually explains them in a satisfactory manner. Jamie Fox is also good in the film. However, he must take a back seat to Butler's intense menace and underlying grief.
Law Abiding Citizen is certainly not a perfect film. Much of the plot is unrealistic, but that should not stop you from going to see it. There are some incredibly shocking moments and plot twists that truly are inspired and surprisingly entertaining. And, as a movie go-er who is always trying to find those twists, I wasn't able to figure them out here. That's not to say they were meticulously hidden. It's just a testament to director F. Gary Gray's skill that he's able to camouflage those twists and keep you guessing, all the while making a complex and fun revenge picture. I would highly recommend Law Abiding Citizen if you are looking to be entertained and want to have a enjoyable movie going experience.
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Action Movie
Worst Part of this Film: Nothing
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
chad8246
|
 - Top 1000 |
|
Location: Houston, Texas
Reviews written: 223
Trusted by: 135 members
About Me:
Lousy Smarch weather!
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.