by Iain Wilson

Created on: February 25, 2010

Law Abiding Citizen was released in 2009, directed by F. Gary Gray. It has a runtime of approximately 108 minutes and is available on Amazon.co.uk for around £12.

~~~ Synopsis ~~~

Gerard Butler plays Clyde Shelton, who feels the justice system has failed after one of his family's killers gets let free. In a bid to prove his point he starts killing anyone and everyone involved with the case, through a series of well though out plans.

~~~ My Opinion ~~~

I had wanted to see this ever since I saw the trailer and when one of my friends wanted to go to the cinema to see it I couldn't say no. This is despite reading what happens at the end of the movie, from a review posted on here.

Even though I had a rough idea of how the ending was going to pan out I still managed to enjoy the movie. The 100+ minute runtime flew in and I just didn't want the movie to end.

Gerard Butler does a fine job of playing the man cheated by society and the justice system. He clearly shows the feelings of Clyde and what he is trying to get across.

On the other side Jamie Foxx also does a very good job, but I preferred Butlers' character and was definitely routing for him. Foxx plays Nick Rice the man responsible for the deal, which set one of the characters free, and although the emotions he has to display aren't as complex as Butler's it is still a good performance.

The story itself is very interesting to watch. The plans are well executed and nicely thought out. Not overly done though, so you're not thinking that's not possible. In the same way the plans aren't done, the overall movie goes the same. Although it is fairly clever it isn't wrapped up in itself, so you don't have to keep track of everything is going on, you simply sit back and enjoy it.

It also does well in the way it doesn't simply turn into a movie full of brutal killings. You don't really get to see much; it's the more the knowing that it's happening that adds something to the movie.

Overall I really enjoyed this movie. As far as I'm aware it didn't go down all that well with movie critics, but that's because they are looking for different things. And in my opinion don't have a clue. Character plot and important global messages and all sorts of other things are needed for a movie to be critically acclaimed, but for me the only box that needs ticking is the entertainment box and this certainly does that. Recommended.


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

Summary: 9/10

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