Watchable despite some serious stretching of credibility

Rating: 7/10 (16 April 2015)

2009's Law Abiding Citizen is an emotionally manipulative and shockingly violent crime thriller that takes films like Death Wish to a whole new level.
Clyde Shelton's wife and daughter were brutally murdered by a pair of home intruders and one of the killers managed a plea bargain which got him a lighter sentence in exchange for turning on his partner. Shelton, still numbed from his family's death, has his own plan on making sure the other killer gets what he deserves. Unfortunately, this is only the beginning of Shelton's revenge as he plans to punish the entire justice system through the elimination of anyone and everyone involved in the outcome of his case.
Gerard Butler works very hard at infusing the character of Clyde Shelton with sympathy, but he gets no help from Kurt Rimmer's screenplay, who turns the grief-stricken Shelton into a mustache twirling, one- dimensional villain. Jamie Foxx is quietly effective as the assistant district attorney on Shelton's case who brokered the deal that got one of the killers free. I was impressed that despite everything Shelton puts Foxx's Nick Rice through, he makes it clear that he does not regret his decision to broker the plea bargain because if they had gone to trial, both killers might have gone free.
Bruce McGill, Leslie Bibb, Regina Hall, and Colm Meaney score in supporting roles and there is a classy turn from Viola Davis as the Mayor. The film is filled with shocking, over-the-top violence that definitely makes this film for adults and the screenplay is a little talky, dragging it down in spots, but director F. Gary Gray keeps things moving at a nice pace for the most part and if you can accept Butler's channeling of Mel Gibson and some of the things that Shelton is able to do from inside a jail cell, it's a pretty entertaining ride.