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Law Abiding Citizen: Movie Review

Jeffrey Hyatt — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:45 +0000

For those who often wonder what a battle of wits between Ray Charles and King Leonidas might be like, Law Abiding Citizen is as close as you’re going to get. Actually, that premise might have been a better idea for a film than the bloody revenge thriller we get served up here. This violent psychological thriller, that has a bone to pick with the justice system, never really finds it way. It’s just a jumbled story pushed and pulled along by the guys who fared much better as a Spartan warrior and a musical genius.

Check out the review…

The Players:

Director: F. Gary Gray
Writer: Kurt Wimmer
Cast: Jamie Foxx, Gerard Butler, Colm Meaney, Leslie Bibb, Viola Davis, Bruce McGill

The Plot:

After watching his family murdered, Clyde Shelton (Butler) decides to take justice into his own hands. His journey to exact bloody revenge begins after prosecutor Nick Rice (Foxx) offers one of the caught suspects a lighter sentence for testifying against his partner, much to dismay of Shelton. Cut to 10 years later. Shelton is now ready to make all those involved with the court case pay dearly for what happened to his wife and daughter – orchestrating his elaborate game of revenge from inside a prison cell.

The Good:

Gerard Butler: He’s pretty good in a movie that really isn’t. When he gets to unleash some of his character’s maniacal charm, it gives the movie some much-needed juice. Whatever accent he’s meant to have doesn’t cause too much discomfort, but Butler can only do so much of his wily vigilante-with-a-message dance in a movie before the cracks in the movie show through.
Viola Davis: As the tough-talking mayor she’s only in a few scenes, but she carried her part in the movie rather well.
Leslie Bibb: She’s not bad at all in a supporting role. She’s made her way into a few big budgets films as of late including last year’s Iron Man, and she’s proving that she has some decent acting chops. It also doesn’t hurt that she’s not bad to look at.
The Who: There’s a scene in the film that features The Who‘s awesome song “Eminence Front.” It worked so well in the movie.
Philadelphia: Kudos to Director of Photography Jonathan Sela for capturing some lovely exterior shots of the city. It was almost like secondary character within the story.

The Bad:

Jamie Foxx: He might one day get back to the heights of his profession as he did with his wonderful performance in Ray, but Law Abiding Citizen will not be the film that gets him on his way. Foxx looks uncomfortable in the role, almost bored with having to inhabit such a one-dimensional character. You don’t believe him in the part at all.
The Story: The third act is where the wheels really fall off. The resulting action is plausible from the get-go, but then things get loopy. Forget the lack of any character development, there are some plot points and details that are either never explained, or just thrown in along the way.
Foxx vs. Butler: The Silence of the Lamb-ish scenes between Foxx and Butler are stiff as a board. The chemistry just isn’t there. The dialogue they have to volley back and forth isn’t the best, and their scenes come off feeling clunky and unnatural.

Overall:

I’m going to tip my hat to F. Gary Gray for not letting this film completely spin out of control, but the plot is treated like an afterthought at times and the acting is mediocre at best. The movie loses whatever grip it starts out with far too quickly, and the vigilante story is left to run its ho-hum course. It’s a film happy to spill the blood and get preachy, but there’s not much in the way of making us care about any of it. If you like movies with excessive violence, bad language and a questionable narrative then maybe Law Abiding Citizen is worth a try.

Rating: 3/10

Law Abiding Citizen opens nationwide on October 16^th

Law Abiding Citizen International Posters

Krystal Clark — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:12:33 +0000

Two new posters have been released for this weekend’s Law Abiding Citizen. The film stars Oscar winner Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler as two men on the opposite sides of the law. The thriller is directed by F. Gary Gray, and features Butler as a man consumed by revenge after his wife and daughter are killed in their home. Fox stars as a district attorney who double crosses him, and ends up on his sh*t list.

Take a look at the latest posters for Law Abiding Citizen…

I like these a lot better than the previous posters. These look a lot more professional in comparison, and the color isn’t so rigged. This may be a useless side note to some, but I always thought Gerard Butler’s eyes were blue, in his poster they appear to be a pissed off green. It creeps me out, but maybe that was the studio’s intention.

Law Abiding Citizen will hit theaters domestically on October 16th.

What do you think of the latest posters for Law Abiding Citizen?

Source: Empire

Extended Law Abiding Citizen Clip

Krystal Clark — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:33:13 +0000

A new clip has been released from F.Gary Gray‘s upcoming thriller, Law Abiding Citizen. It stars Gerard Butler and Oscar winner Jamie Foxx as two men on the opposite sides of the law, who’ve both been corrupted by the legal system. In the following clip, we get to see Foxx and Butler going at it, and as usual I can’t help but hear someone’s Scottish accent vaguely making an appearance during the scene.

Take a look at an extended clip from Law Abiding Citizen…

Law Abiding Citizen centers on a man who turns into a vigilante when his families killers are set free after they cop a plea bargain. As you can see in this film, both of these characters aren’t as innocent as they appear to be. Foxx’s tailored suit can’t take away from his dirty dealings, and there’s only so far Butler can go with his sob story.

Law Abiding Citizen hits theaters on October 16th.

What do you think of this scene from Law Abiding Citizen?

New Law Abiding Citizen Poster

Krystal Clark — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 23:40:45 +0000

A new poster has been released for the F. Gary Gray thriller, Law Abiding Citizen. The film pits Gerard Butler against Oscar winner Jamie Foxx in a tale of murder, deceit, and vigilante justice. The first poster for the film only featured Butler, but the latest release highlights a stern looking Mr. Foxx. Law Abiding Citizen hits theaters next month on October 16th.

Take a look at what you’re in for…

Unlike the over the top trailer for Law Abiding Citizen, this poster isn’t too in your face. There’s nothing here that makes it better or worse than the previous one sheet we posted earlier.

The plot of this film centers on a man who turns into a vigilante when the murderers of his wife and daughter are set free after they cop a plea bargain. From that point on, the grief stricken widower becomes a menace to society and pulls Jamie Foxx into a drawn out game of cat and mouse.

What do you think of the second poster for Law Abiding Citizen?

Image courtesy of Cinematical

Law Abiding Citizen Trailer

Krystal Clark — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 21:44:36 +0000

Talk about coming out of left field. A trailer has been released via Entertainment Tonight for F. Gary Gray’s thriller, Law Abiding Citizen. It stars Gerard Butler as a mourning father and husband turned serial killer. I too was freaked out by that sentiment. After watching this thing I have to tell you the acting isn’t that great. It co-stars Jamie Foxx , Leslie Bibb, and a whole lot of excessive explosions.

Check out the trailer after the jump…

Was I wrong when I said the acting was a bit underwhelming here? Doesn’t Jamie Foxx sound as if he’s reading directly from the script? I love Gerard Butler to death because he seems like such a sweet guy, but his Scottish accent is always obvious to me. I don’t seek it out, it just catches my attention. The story of the film centers on a man who turns into a vigilante when his families killers are set free after they cop a plea bargain. Law Abiding Citizen hits theaters on October 16th.

Will you check out Law Abiding Citizen this fall?

Gerard Butler’s Law Abiding Citizen Poster

Krystal Clark — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 23:15:57 +0000

Even though this looks like it could work as a poster for Gamer, Gerard Butler’s angry mug is promoting a different movie. It’s for Law Abiding Citizen, a film that sounds like a campy action flick from the eighties. It’s directed by F. Gary Gray (The Italian Job), and co-stars Oscar winner Jamie Foxx. The film centers on a man who turns into a vigilante when his families killers are set free after they cop a plea bargain. The film hits theaters on October 16th (as do so many other things)!

Check out the full poster below.

Image courtesy of Fangoria.

This is a bit much for me. It’s like we get it, you’re angry. I’ve seen better, but I’ve also seen worse.

What do you think about the trailer for Law Abiding Citizen?

ScreenCrave.com » law abiding citizen

Law Abiding Citizen: Movie Review

The Players:

The Plot:

The Good:

The Bad:

Overall:

Rating: 3/10

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