Great movie with a weak ending!

Rating: 7/10 (4 December 2009)

I've just seen Law Abiding Citizen and I have to say that I really enjoyed the movie. It is entertaining, thrilling and even smart at some points. The actors are really good especially Gerard Butler who plays the villain Clyde Shelton. Jamie Foxx is a good opponent playing the lawyer.
It's a movie about the American system of justice and it's flaws. Or let me say it should have been this movie. It all begins with unbelievably cruel scenes of Clydes daughter and wife being tortured, raped and murdered and the injustice happening when Nick Rice the lawyer is handling Clydes case wrong. Rice is making a deal with one of the murderers which leads to the point that this guy is walking free after just a few years while his accomplice is sentenced to death.. Clyde can't help but starting a revenge war after ten years but he doesn't just want revenge. He wants to show that this system is wrong and corrupt.
Up to this point and a lot further the movie is brilliant. It has you on the edge of your seat. Prepare yourself being on the side of the villain the whole time while Nick Rice isn't a likable character at all. We all know he made the wrong choice as a lawyer just caring about his success rate and it's kinda satisfying to see that he or his system has to pay for it. There are some turning points and surprises through the movie which are well planned. The only problem of the movie is that it is inconsistent towards the end. It is a fantastic thriller until the last 15 minutes start. Clyde is one of the smartest characters seen on screen. He's always 2 steps ahead of Nick Rice and is playing his games ingeniously. (SPOILER!) But all of a sudden his last coup goes wrong or let me say is suddenly too easy to see through and simple. He gets caught by Nick Rice and his team and this is where the unsatisfying feeling takes part.
Instead of following the plot that the legal system has it's flaws which can lead to murderers walking free they simply kill Clyde in the end. (Which is another huge plot hole because since when is it legal for a lawyer to kill a murderer with his own weapon and then living a normal life as if nothing happened afterwards?!) Means the corrupt system wins in the end. You kinda get the feeling this is another ending that had to fit into Hollywoods way of thinking. Definitely not what we want to see! There are some other plot holes all around the end but I think I already said enough ;)
All in all the movie is really good! The actors are great and it is thrilling all the way through! The reason why I still give it a 9/10.