While the notion of a failing system failing to serve actual justice isn't really a shocking proposition, "Law-Abiding Citizen" tries to convince us that somehow a grieving, vengeful father and spouse 10-years removed from the crime is somehow justified in manifesting the same types of slaughter inflicted in his own life. The problem that I have with a film such as "Law-Abiding Citizen" is that it purports to be mainstream cinema, a serious film with a serious theme running through its cinematic veins rather than a "Saw," which is rather brutally honest about its intentions to shock and devastate audiences.
Instead, "Law-Abiding Citizen" is nothing more than torture porn with a conscience and starring a better cast than is usually caught doing these types of films. With touches of "Death Wish" and "Saw" firmly in grasp, "Law-Abiding Citizen" tries hard to convince us that the film is an importance social statement.
Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx), an up-and-coming Philly prosecutor is forced by his boss to plea bargain with one suspect in exchange for testimony against the other, ultimately less culpable, suspect.įast forward 10 years and the suspect who plea bargained is murdered and Shelton confesses to the crime and, from behind bars, makes everyone aware that unless the system is fixed the killings will continue. Between this and the just-released-to-DVD “Gamer,” he’s in danger of becoming the next Steven Seagal.Īlso available Tuesday: “Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever” (Lionsgate, $26.98), with featurettes “From Mexico With Love” (Lionsgate, $19.98) “Good Hair” (Lionsgate, $27.98), with Chris Rock commentary “Halo Legends” (Warner, $19.98, 2-disc set $29.98, Blu-ray $34.99), with commentary and “Women in Trouble” (Screen Media, $24.98, Blu-ray $29.98), with deleted scenes.Serving as an ever so slightly more intelligent take on the "Saw" theme, in which killing is not simply justified but socially responsible, "Law-Abiding Citizen" starts off in fourth gear when the wife and daughter of Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) are brutally murdered. One of the plot’s key twists – just how Clyde is carrying out all these high-tech murders while behind bars – doesn’t require a suspension of disbelief, it requires someone to hit you over the head with a stick until you sustain a concussion.īutler needs to get his career rebooted fast. You might think it would end with the perpetrators of the crime, but he’s determined to bring down anyone involved in the legal system. Jump 10 years forward and Clyde instigates a bloody round of revenge. Clyde’s despair festers into rage when calculating district attorney Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx) makes a deal to settle the case. “Law Abiding Citizen” tries to straddle the line between thriller and social commentary and stumbles like a poor man’s “Saw.”Ī home invasion costs Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) his wife and his child.