Law Abiding Citizen [Blu-ray]

Law Abiding Citizen [Blu-ray] Review

When I saw this film advertised for theatres, I thought it was an action film. I don't think it was marketed well. Law Abiding Citizen goes way beyond action, though it does have some explosive sequences. It's actually more of a noir thriller, with many plot twists and unexpected diversions. It had many elements that reminded me of films like Phone Booth, Die Hard With a Vengeance and even Speed. The trailer made it out as a simple criminal versus a virtuous DA, but it's much deeper than that. Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler are playing a deadly game against one another, and there is no black and white. Butler's character is supposedly "the villain," but one that is so easy to sympathize with, even justified in his actions. The film really highlights many of the problems in our criminal justice system, lending the story credibility and realism. The plot kept me guessing as to just how Butler was accomplishing his objectives. However, I do think the ending could have been better. After so much clever cat and mouse, the climax was too simple and didn't live up to what came before. Overall though, it was an exciting film that kept me paying close attention and on the edge of my seat. Also, the acting from the two leads was top notch, and even the supporting cast was noticeably superb.

The DVD has some well done extras, including featurettes on special effects shots and behind the scenes. However, the best featurette discusses the law behind the film. Experts explain the actual statutes that impact the characters in the film and how they are realistically played out in the story. It added a lot to the film, basing the plot on more than than just getting off on "a technicality." The extras add to the film experience. Well worth the money; I'll definitely watch this again.

Law Abiding Citizen [Blu-ray] Overview

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 admits his guilt. Then he issues a warning to Nick: Either fix the flawed justice system, or key players in the trial will die. Soon Shelton follows through on his threats, orchestrating from his jail cell a string of spectacularly diabolical assassinations that can be neither predicted nor prevented. Only Nick can stop the killing and finds himself in a desperate race against time facing a deadly adversary who seems always to be one step ahead.

Law Abiding Citizen [Blu-ray] Specifications

The legal thriller meets the serial-killer shocker in Law Abiding Citizen. The story begins when home invaders kill Clyde Shelton's wife and daughter. The bereaved father (played by a thoroughly unsympathetic Gerard Butler) looks to slick Philly prosecutor Nick Rice (a low-key Jamie Foxx) to see that they receive the maximum sentence. Instead, the murderer, Ames, testifies against his accomplice, Darby, who gets the chair, while he gets 10 years. Upon his release, Ames' mutilated body turns up in an abandoned warehouse, and all roads lead to Shelton. Rice attempts to defend him, but his client makes it impossible--Shelton wants to go to prison--so he does time, but then members of Rice’s legal team start to die. The attorney suspects Shelton, but can't connect him to the crimes, so he races against the clock to save the lives of his assistant, Sarah (Leslie Bibb), D.A. Jonas (Bruce McGill), and his own wife and child. The movie may sound like a Yank reboot of the Japanese chiller Cure, in which an inmate kills from inside institutional walls, but plays more like a mash-up between The Silence of the Lambs, without the psychological complexity, and The Devil's Advocate, without the cynical giggles. F. Gary Gray got his start with hip-hop videos and urban action flicks, like Set It Off, until he hit the big time with his remake of The Italian Job. Law Abiding Citizen is a disappointing muddle from a director who's done better in the past and will surely do better in the future. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Stills from Law Abiding Citizen (Click for larger image)

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