Because stupidity isn't always bad...

Rating: 6/10 (22 January 2010)

It is not often that I comment upon a film that has done nothing to move or upset so I thought I would break with tradition and offer my opinions.
First off - as a film, LAC is not terrible. The stand out aspect of the film is that it is able to maintain its pace without breaking stride, allowing the audience no time to dwell on the utter ridiculousness that is the plot. Now I may be naive as to the way the American Legal system works but it appears that, for the sake of a tidy narrative, it would be appropriate to have a Lawyer, who also acts as lead interrogator, who also heads the investigation against our 'lead man' who incidentally used to be his client.
It is also a little confusing as to who we are routing for. Clyde Shelton - a wronged man who decides he should kill everyone who got close to reading an article about the murder of his family, or, Nick Rice, who seems to route for Sheldon until the point at which Clyde decides to fool around with Nick's life.
This issue of loyalty to our leads also begs us to ask the question why Clyde didn't decide to take immediate action against Nick, who was, let's face responsible for cutting a deal with the man who raped and killed his family.
Herein lies the problem that the well paced plot forces the writers to completely bumble any sense of integrity in either character.
Viewers may also find some points of the film a little to convenient, making a great show like 24 look positively plausible. A few people have moaned about how a nice guy, turns so very bad, but given the way his life was turned upside down, I didn't really have a problem with a brutal reaction from Clyde. The implausibility however, is dragged to red-alert, when we realise that Clyde only has a couple of people who he should really be punishing - so we are forced to endure a supposedly moral man bump off lawyers for the sake of making the movie last more than thirty minutes.
There is also a big question mark as to how the rapist and murderer, managed to get off with pretty much a telling off, while his accomplice who seemed to be no more than a voyeur gets the death penalty. But, as we quickly learn, this is a film the will consistently, until the final credits role, ignore the unignorable in a bid to keep the story accelerating.
The film has its violent moments, which some may object to, but given the whole ridiculous mess, they may not prove to be offensive as they otherwise could be.
Criticism aside however, I did not feel like asking for the price of my ticket back and it will certainly keep you entertained. If you are prepared to sit back and not reflect too deeply on the utter stupidity of the film, give it a try. If you are the type of person who watches superman and says 'that would never happen' save your breath and go watch something else.
6/10 - Because stupidity isn't always bad.