Promising Beginning, Disappointing Conclusion

Rating: 6/10 (6 March 2010)

In Philadelphia, the family man Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) is violently attacked at home by two punks and his wife and daughter are rapped and murdered by Clarence Darby (Christian Stolte). The two criminals are arrested by the police but the ambitious D.A. Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx) makes a deal with the assassin Darby that accuses his partner to keep his average of convictions in court despite the protest of Clyde. Ten years later, Darby's partner is executed by lethal injection but the defective machine makes him suffer lots of pain. Meanwhile Clyde abducts Darby and executes him in a sadistic way. Clyde is arrested without evidences and Nick negotiates his confession. Sooner Nick discovers that the purpose of Clyde is not only vengeance, but to destroy the corrupt justice system and the head of the city that released the assassin of his family.
Since I saw the trailer of "Law Abiding Citizen", I have been anxious to see this film. Last week, it was released on DVD in Brazil by Swen Filmes and after watching it, unfortunately I found it a blockbuster movie with a promising beginning and a disappointing conclusion. The plot works well showing the deception of an apparently common citizen with the way the corrupt justice system works. Then there is the first inconsistency: why should a man with his background wait for ten years to catch a criminal that had been released seven years ago? Why should he be in jail to destroy the justice system and the City Hall? Last but not the least, why didn't he kill the wife and daughter of Nick Rice to make him feel the same sort of pain and grief that he had been submitted with his decision? That would be the most appropriate revenge for an intelligent man after killing the murderers of his family, but probably the producers were more interested in the box office than in a reasonably more believable non-commercial plot. Only people that do not think might find this movie amazing as I glanced in some reviews. The exaggeration and accuracy of his plans are also annoying and absolutely unbelievable, and the arrogant character performed by Jamie Foxx is despicable to win in the end. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "CÃ³digo de Conduta" ("Code of Conduct")