A very interesting idea that didn't work out so well till the end

Rating: 6/10 (29 October 2009)

Law Abiding Citizen could have been a movie that you would remember as one of the best thrillers you've seen lately or a movie about a deep matter, the ones you don't see often in Hollywood.Buuut it wasn't.
However, still the fact that until one point (leaving aside some too of Hollywood scenes and the acting of Foxx which was inexplicably bad) you could agree that it was somewhat of a breakthrough idea, deserves some credits.
First of all, I would like to say that i expected to see more of the main events that formed the character of Clyde Shelton(Gerard Butler): the slaughter of his family and his revenge on the killer. Maybe i ask too much from a Hollywood movie but if you were exposed to images more shocking that the ones you actually see in the movie, you would be able to understand the feelings that the protagonist experiences and see the brutality that he was forced into to escape from his misery, receiving no help from Justice.
The second and biggest problem were the holes in the scenario which appeared incrementally, leading up to a disappointing (and rather rough) ending. I'm not going to get too much into details concerning the acts of Clyde during his plan but I would like to comment on the fact that although the writers had in mind the whole time that Clyde was fighting not only for his family but very much more against the surprisingly "justice-free" judicial system, they sort of abandoned this main idea and turned their focus too much into the characters and how Clyde could influence Nick (Jamie Foxx). I was really intrigued when the writers were making remarks about how the effort to make the judicial system perfect and caring for all had turned it into a seemingly unfair and naive system, but I was finally let down by the ending which didn't try to pass the idea of a dead end in our dysfunctional society to viewers in a more clear way.
Just to mention my idea of an ending, i would like to experience the well expected catharsis which would come through the death of the Mayor and the upcoming upheaval of the society, followed by a judicial system punishing the murderer, serving the rights and the safety of the Many once again.