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Law Abiding Citizen (2009)

7.3
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Ratings: 7.3/10 from 134,063 users   Metascore: 34/100
Reviews: 391 user | 205 critic | 26 from Metacritic.com

A frustrated man decides to take justice into his own hands after a plea bargain sets one of his family's killers free. He targets not only the killer but also the district attorney and others involved in the deal.

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Title: Law Abiding Citizen (2009)

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2 wins & 5 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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Denise Rice (as Emerald Angel Young)
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Rupert Ames (as Joshua Stewart)
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Storyline

Clyde Shelton's family is brutally murdered. The ones responsible are caught. However, because of improper procedure, the D.A., Nick Rice only has circumstantial evidence. So he decides to get one of them to testify against the other. When Shelton learns of this, he is not happy. Ten years later, the one who was convicted is being executed but something goes wrong; his execution goes awry and he suffers. They learn that someone tampered with the machine. And the other one is found dead, killed in a gruesome manner. Rice suspects Shelton, so he has him picked up. At first, Shelton agrees to a plea agreement with Rice but changes his mind. It appears that Shelton is not done, it appears he blames the whole system and is declaring war on it going after everyone involved with his family's case. So Rice has to stop him but Shelton is way ahead of him. Written by rcs0411@yahoo.com

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

The System Must Pay See more »

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong bloody brutal violence and torture, a scene of rape, and pervasive language | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

16 October 2009 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Días de ira  »

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,488,143 (UK) (27 November 2009)

Gross:

$73,343,413 (USA) (29 January 2010)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

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Color:

(Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Director F. Gary Gray decided to use Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse as the restaurant that caters Clyde's lunch after dining there several times during filming. The restaurant was also the location of the film's after-party following its screening at the Philadelphia Film Festival. See more »

Goofs

Clyde says the venom he uses to inject his second victim with, using the trick gun, is Tetrodotoxin. This venom, known as TTX, is indeed found in puffer-fish (among other sea animals) and can paralyze humans while allowing them to remain conscious. However, the effects take from 20 minutes to four hours to appear and normally include severe respiratory paralysis, especially in large doses. Any person having TTX injected "straight into the bloodstream", as Clyde claims, would suffocate to death within minutes. The only way in which he would have possibly kept his victim alive was by using a mechanical respirator. See more »

Quotes

[from trailer]
Nick Rice: You end this!
Clyde Shelton: [smiles] I'm just gettin' warmed up.
See more »

Connections

Referenced in The Jay Leno Show: Episode #1.16 (2009) See more »

Soundtracks

"Mr. Tambourine Man"
Written by Bob Dylan
Performed by The Studio Sound Ensemble
Courtesy of Countdown Media GmbH
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
Good but not great due to Foxx and bad ending
22 March 2010 | by (Netherlands) – See all my reviews

Clyde Shelton's ( Gerard Butler ) wife gets murdered in the beginning of the movie and justice doesn't prevail because one of the killers is only sentenced for 10 years. Clyde is angry as hell and will make sure the people responsible for the horrible trial of the killers will all suffer and die. So basically you got yourself a revenge movie here. Clyde is killing them and isn't even hiding it, he admits it. Nick Rice ( Jamie Foxx ) is the DA on the case and needs to find out what the hell is going on. Now the fun part is that Clyde is performing the kills from within his prison cell, he even has to sit out in solitary and is still killing people, now how cool is that.

I totally dig the idea of a highly intelligent man orchestrating kills on specific times and places from his prison cell, all planned ahead of time. If you're a smart ass while watching this movie you'll find out there are a lot of plot holes so I recommend you not to think it all through. Heads up for Gerard Butler, this guy is making some mayor progress on this one after some sh!tty movies last year. I think we'll be seeing more of King Leonidas in the future so hurray to that. On the opposite, Jamie Foxx is on a decline. Ray was an excellent movie but after that it's just bad. As Nick Rice the DA he is just one stone face mofo, no emotion no nothing. Jamie and the ending of the movie are the only 2 things that suck. The movie is just handing out it's surprises like candy, like spoiling your daughter's birthday present a week before her actual birthday. Watch it with a time progress bar and stop the movie before the last 15 minutes, then close your eyes and make up your own ending and I promise you it will be way better then the awful piece of movie you just skipped...


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Message Boards

Recent Posts
Why the ending was disappointing mauness
Did I miss the reason for the murder of Shelton's family? fruity_dina
Perfect Ending maxphillyfan
Not even remotely possible....ptp wanderin
The Transportation of The Bomb from Building to Jail Cell? mwmiller1
Why was he naked jasonsun1
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