F Gary Gray's masterpiece.

Rating: Null/10 (7 October 2010)

The first picture I saw from this director was SET IT OFF, back in 1997, the poignant tale of a bunch of female arm robbers. An amazing feature. Then I saw THE NEGOCIATOR, very interesting and unusual too. And the Italian JOB, Peter Collinson's remake, very entertaining as well.
But this very movie - LAW ABIDING CITIZEN - is far ahead the others. I consider it at the same level as USUAL SUSPECT. It keeps the audience on the edge all along the movie. And I don't speak of the violence, bloody and unbearable torture sequences.
This film tells the story of a common fellow - Butler - who gets mad in avenging his family slaughtered by a couple of hoods. His character is absolutely awesome. The perfect bad guy in whom every man in the audience can identify himself. The ordinary citizen. This character reminds me Alan Ladd's one in ONE FOOT IN HELL. This western where a local sheriff takes revenge of the town community who let his pregnant wife dying because of some dollars he did not have to save her, to pay a doctor.
This movie - LAW ABIDING CITIZEN - has never been released in France. SUCH A SHAME. Distributors in this country are real assholes.