Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Law Abiding Citizen is a crazy movie about a man who got screwed over in court after his family was murdered and the killer cut a deal with the district attorney's office. It stars Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx, and was a pretty decent hit at the box office. The problem is that if you've seen the trailer, then you've seen the movie.

I don't understand why movie trailers have gone from enticing viewers to want to go see the movie to just showing a Cliff Notes version of the actual film. After watching this movie, I watched the theatrical trailer on the Blu-ray and it shows everything. It even shows two scenes from the climax in the trailer. That's right - it shows how the villain dies in the trailer. It also shows every key scene from explosions to twists, so there were absolutely no surprises left for the audience. Why do that? It's like going to a nice restaurant and having the waiter spit in your food.

Gerard Butler is not a good guy in this movie. He plays a former assassin type who has a knack for inventing ways to kill people, so he's sort of like that guy from the Saw movies. When his family gets a raw deal after the trial, he decides to kill everyone involved with it. This means the killer who got off, the one in prison, and the entire district attorney's office. Basically, he's a terrorist. I don't know if the audience was supposed to sympathize with Butler, but it's hard when he ties down his first victim and uses power tools to dismember him.

Jamie Foxx plays a young lawyer trying to do the right thing, but he ends up setting a killer free. There's no telling how often this happens in real court, where deals get made in the interest of wrapping things up as opposed to true justice. One thing I did like was the morality tale involved here where sometimes you have to take that chance and let a jury decide, rather than make deals just to move on. This movie is an extreme version of the consequences of justice not being properly served, but the message was at least fairly clear.

The screenplay was written by Kurt Wimmer, who is one of my favorites. He's the guy behind Christian Bale's amazing and often understated Equilibrium as well as the upcoming Metal Gear Solid movie. Wimmer can create some pretty amazing action sequences. Too bad the spoiler showed off everything that was going to happen. This was directed by F. Gary Gray, who also is no stranger to action movies since he directed The Italian Job and A Man Apart.

If you haven't seen the trailer for Law Abiding Citizen, then I do recommend this movie. You'll find it full of twists and surprises. However, if you did already see the trailer then you won't be nearly as impressed.

Recommended: Yes

Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age