Law Abiding Citizen (2009)

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.

Director:

F. Gary Gray

Writer:

Kurt Wimmer

Stars:

Gerard Butler, Jamie Foxx, Leslie Bibb

3 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jamie Foxx	...	Nick Rice
Gerard Butler	...	Clyde Shelton
Colm Meaney	...	Detective Dunnigan
Bruce McGill	...	Jonas Cantrell
Leslie Bibb	...	Sarah Lowell
Michael Irby	...	Detective Garza
Gregory Itzin	...	Warden Iger
Regina Hall	...	Kelly Rice
Emerald-Angel Young	...	Denise Rice (as Emerald Angel Young)
Christian Stolte	...	Clarence Darby
Annie Corley	...	Judge Laura Burch
Richard Portnow	...	Bill Reynolds
Viola Davis	...	Mayor
Michael Kelly	...	Bray
Josh Stewart	...	Rupert Ames (as Joshua Stewart)

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.

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Plot Keywords:

justice | deal | investigation | criminal mastermind | looking at oneself in a mirror | 

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Taglines:

How do you stop a killer who is already behind bars?

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong bloody brutal violence and torture, a scene of rape, and pervasive language

Details

Official Sites:

Constantin Film [Germany] Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 October 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Law Abiding Citizen

Filming Locations:

Girard Point, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$21,039,502, 18 October 2009, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$73,343,413, 31 January 2010

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$126,690,726, 12 August 2012

Company Credits

Production Co:

G-BASE, The Film Department, Warp Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min 118 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bruce McGill is the only actor of the top four male leads who has not been in a comic book adapted film. Jamie Foxx Starred in The amazing Spider-Man 2, Gerard Butler in 300, and Colm Meaney in Dick Tracy.

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Goofs

The camera in the interrogation room/cage does not have a cable in it. However, the camera could very well be broadcasting a wireless signal, as any loose cable could be cut/unplugged to break the signal, or used as a weapon in the possession of a prisoner.

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Quotes

Detective Dunnigan: [to Nick over the phone] that contraption used to kill them was a weaponized bomb disposal robot, it had video, night vision it fired military API's, that's anti-tank rounds. I think his saving you for last, you've got to get in front of this guy if you want to stay alive.

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Connections

References Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland (1989)

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Soundtracks

Eminence Front
Written by Pete Townshend
Performed by The Who
Courtesy of Polydor Records Ltd./Geffen Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

One Protagonist, One Antagonist...

I am just not sure which is which.

I am trying to avoid spoilers here, because it is a definite film you must check out because it is a great new take on the prison based thriller genre, which provides 90 odd minutes of great entertainment with lots of twists and turns to keep the story fresh.

My main criticism is that the story seems to twist and turn so much it gets itself into a nasty tangle. The base of any thriller for an audience, is to want the protagonist to prosper at the downfall of the antagonist, but at the end, i was unsure which of one of the two mains, Nick Rice (foxx) or Clyde Shelton (butler) i should be 'cheering' for.

Each Character has their fair amount of being the good guy, but both were more of the bad guy, a very confusing aspect to a thriller.

Never-the-less, there are some brilliant performances and a very entertaining fresh story kept me glued to the screen for the entirety of the movie.

****/5