A Revenge Rampage Which Can Get Unbelievable

Rating: 7/10 (12 March 2010)

Only once in a rare while do we encounter a movie with two main characters who are both protagonist and antagonist at the same time. "Law Abiding Citizen" is one of these movies where the line between right and wrong is blurred into an almost invisible line by the circumstances that surround it.
The movie goes directly to the point. Clyde (Gerald Butler) loses his family right before his very eyes. Public prosecutor Nick (Jaimie Foxx) cuts a deal with the perpetrators to get a compromised win. Clyde did not appreciate this, and takes the law into his own hands. He planned not only to kill the criminals, but also to reform the entire justice system with an elaborate plot which he describes to be "of Biblical proportions."
This ambiguity of everything that is going on is the best thing about "Law Abiding Citizen." I just felt that too little was established about Clyde to convince us that he is really capable enough or even monstrous enough to pull off this Machiavellian scheme of his. If you can just look beyond this gaping plot hole (and the pretty high violence and gore quotient), this film does have its engrossing points. It keeps you guessing to the very moment of climactic revelation.
People who love action and a good mystery will enjoy this film. It is a good film to pump up adrenaline with, and to match wits with the writer. The extreme violence and gore (which at one point gets uncomfortably gratuitous) may appeal to some people, but turn others completely off. You can however shield your eyes at just the right moments and enjoy the rest of the film.