Question your own morality

Rating: 7/10 (7 October 2009)

I was curious to see what Law Abiding Citizen had in store and I was not surprised to see an intelligent and thought provoking film. Gerard Butler stars as Clyde, a man who watched his wife and daughter die at the hands of two dirt bags. One of the dirt bags testifies against the other and one of them gets death row while the other goes free. The lawyer who makes the deal on Clyde's "behalf" is Nick (Jaime Foxx). Foxx plays a truly unlikeable character, despite being the protagonist. Ten years later, when death row time comes for one of the killers, it goes horribly wrong and both of them are killed...the trail of blood leads right to Clyde.
Clyde is taken into jail and he won't give a confession. This is where it gets interesting. Clyde uses leverage through threats which he is capable of making good on. He can somehow kill people in jail. He mostly uses explosives and carefully assembled sequences of chemicals. As an audience member (and I could even gather this from the trailer) it's very satisfying watching Clyde's devices kill people. It's easily the best aspect of the film.
This is where, despite it being incredibly interesting and entertaining, the film is lacking a bit. You know the ending from the start. As an audience member you know from the get go that justice and truth and morality will ALWAYS prevail, which is an issue that this film really tries to bring to the spotlight. The court system is corrupt. You can't help but side with Clyde and delight in him killing people throughout. Unless I'm sick and deranged...I was totally on his side the entire time. Not just for his philosophy, but because he gives us the sort of sick torture and gratifying kills that America wants to see. How on earth can we cheer for law abiding Jaime Foxx's dry character and his walking victims of friends and family? There are a few plot holes, but I can't give them away without spoiling the film. Other than the morality struggle the film puts the audience into (we cheer for the villain) it's great entertainment. Don't expect to leave satisfied with the outcome but the film is a satisfying experience.