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IMDbPro

Law Abiding Citizen

  • 2009
  • R
  • 1h 49m
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
330K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,107
227
Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler in Law Abiding Citizen (2009)
A clip from the movie Law Abiding Citizen.
Play trailer0:55
26 Videos
99+ Photos
ActionCrimeDramaThriller

A frustrated man decides to take justice into his own hands after a plea bargain sets one of his family's killers free.A frustrated man decides to take justice into his own hands after a plea bargain sets one of his family's killers free.A frustrated man decides to take justice into his own hands after a plea bargain sets one of his family's killers free.

  • Director
    • F. Gary Gray
  • Writer
    • Kurt Wimmer
  • Stars
    • Gerard Butler
    • Jamie Foxx
    • Leslie Bibb
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.4/10
    330K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    1,107
    227
    • Director
      • F. Gary Gray
    • Writer
      • Kurt Wimmer
    • Stars
      • Gerard Butler
      • Jamie Foxx
      • Leslie Bibb
    • 740User reviews
    • 236Critic reviews
    • 34Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 3 wins & 5 nominations total

    Videos26

    Law Abiding Citizen: "Don't Even Twitch"
    Trailer 0:55
    Law Abiding Citizen: "Don't Even Twitch"
    Law Abiding Citizen
    Trailer 2:33
    Law Abiding Citizen
    Law Abiding Citizen
    Trailer 2:33
    Law Abiding Citizen
    Law Abiding Citizen
    Clip 1:09
    Law Abiding Citizen
    Law Abiding Citizen
    Clip 0:28
    Law Abiding Citizen
    Law Abiding Citizen
    Clip 0:47
    Law Abiding Citizen
    Law Abiding Citizen
    Clip 0:26
    Law Abiding Citizen

    Photos182

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    + 176
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    Top cast99+

    Edit
    Gerard Butler
    Gerard Butler
    • Clyde Shelton
    Jamie Foxx
    Jamie Foxx
    • Nick Rice
    Leslie Bibb
    Leslie Bibb
    • Sarah Lowell
    Colm Meaney
    Colm Meaney
    • Detective Dunnigan
    Bruce McGill
    Bruce McGill
    • Jonas Cantrell
    Michael Irby
    Michael Irby
    • Detective Garza
    Gregory Itzin
    Gregory Itzin
    • Warden Iger
    Regina Hall
    Regina Hall
    • Kelly Rice
    Emerald-Angel Young
    • Denise Rice
    • (as Emerald Angel Young)
    Christian Stolte
    Christian Stolte
    • Clarence Darby
    Annie Corley
    Annie Corley
    • Judge Laura Burch
    Richard Portnow
    Richard Portnow
    • Bill Reynolds
    Viola Davis
    Viola Davis
    • Mayor
    Michael Kelly
    Michael Kelly
    • Bray
    Josh Stewart
    Josh Stewart
    • Rupert Ames
    • (as Joshua Stewart)
    Roger Bart
    Roger Bart
    • Brian Bringham
    Dan Bittner
    Dan Bittner
    • Sereno
    Evan Hart
    Evan Hart
    • Collins
    • Director
      • F. Gary Gray
    • Writer
      • Kurt Wimmer
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • 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.
    • Goofs
      The instant the neurotoxin hit Darby's system he would have fallen down due to being paralyzed. He would not have been able to just stand there, motionless, as muscles are still used when standing still. He also would not be shaking while lying on the table, even when Clyde injected the adrenaline.
    • Quotes

      Jonas Cantrell: Tell us what we're dealing with. Shelton was a spy?

      Bray: Look, spies are a dime a dozen. I'm a spy. Clyde is a brain. He's a think tank-type guy. His specialty was low-impact kinetic operations.

      Nick Rice: That's a hell of a fancy way to say that he kills people.

      Bray: We kill people. He figured out how to do it without ever being in the same room. It was his gift, and he was the best. One time, we're tasking this tricky target. I mean, we're usin' cruise missiles and Predators, and we even had a B-2 Bomber flatten this guy's villa with JDAM. Alright, we're burnin' up millions in ordnance and we're gettin' nowhere with this guy. So we call Clyde, and we ask him to solve our problem. Clyde develops a Kevlar thread with a high-tech ratchet made of carbon fiber. Put it in a necktie. Two days later, Mrs. Bad Guy comes home, finds Mr. Bad Guy dead on the bathroom tile, choked to death. What I'm sayin' is, just assume that this guy can hear and see everything that you're doing.

      Nick Rice: No. We got him locked away; maximum security.

      Bray: He's in jail, it's because he wants to be in jail. He's a born tactician. Every move that he makes, it means something. That cellmate that he killed, what, you think that was random? No. That's a pawn being moved off the board. If I were you, I'd be lookin' for the next piece. Anybody who had anything to do with that case, he's gonna be comin' after you.

      Nick Rice: So what are you sayin'? You sayin' we can't stop him?

      Bray: Walk into his cell, and put a bullet in his head. Aside from that, no, you can't stop him. If Clyde wants you dead, you're dead.

    • Connections
      Featured in The Jay Leno Show: Episode #1.19 (2009)
    • Soundtracks
      Mr. Tambourine Man
      Written by Bob Dylan

      Performed by The Studio Sound Ensemble

      Courtesy of Countdown Media GmbH

    User reviews740

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10

    An ending that works (for me)

    Almost everyone agrees. Law Abiding Citizen is a great movie but the ending sucks.

    The problem is, with about 30 minutes to go, the movie wants us to stop cheering on Clyde (Gerry Butler) and suddenly start thinking of Nick (Jamie Foxx) as the hero. That's not going to work, the audience has just invested about 90 minutes of wanting Clyde to continue with his vengeance. Damn right too.

    The plot should have continued to its logical conclusion. Clyde was trying to teach Nick a lesson, that the system was so broken that it could only be fixed by being destroyed first. Rather than the squeaky-Hollywood-ending-slop they served up, here's what should have happened...

    In the solitary confinement cell at the end, Jamie Foxx's character Nick should have taken the cell-phone from Clyde then remote-detonated the bomb at city hall, blowing up the mayor, the brass, the whole rotten system, then gone off to watch his daughter's cello recital.

    Now, that ending would have been really insane, but it would have taken the movie to its logical conclusion. Nick's conversion would have been complete. As an ending, it would be right up there with Jimmy Cagney at the end of White Heat, 'Made it Ma, top of the world!' Morally dubious, yes, but it would have given us a bona-fide classic. It would be rating 9.8 here on IMDb rather than this insipid seven-point-bleh.

    Oh, and the movie loses a point for Gerard Butler not using his own voice. Gerry is a Scot and has a fine Glasgow accent, he should use it.
    • Bonesnap
    • May 30, 2010
    • Permalink

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    FAQ21

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 16, 2009 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Facebook
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • El vengador
    • Filming locations
      • Holmesburg Prison - 8215 Torresdale Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
    • Production companies
      • G-BASE
      • The Film Department
      • Warp Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $50,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $73,357,727
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $21,039,502
      • Oct 18, 2009
    • Gross worldwide
      • $127,944,208
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 49 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
      • DTS
      • SDDS
      • Dolby Atmos
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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