Movie Review: Law Abiding Citizen

I vaguely remember seeing this trailer for "Law Abiding Citizen," which opened today, a couple months or so ago. I'm sure I had wanted to see it, but I had forgotten about it until a friend of mine picked me up from school and asked if I wanted to go see it, right then. He was so excited. I couldn't say no.

And I'm glad I went (though going to the Alamo Drafthouse so we could eat dinner, too, was a poor choice given the movie's "strong bloody brutal violence and torture." But I can be surprisingly tough enough to eat at least half a meal after watching such a scene...though, I'm not going to lie, I had to force myself through most of my meal.)

"Law Abiding Citizen" is a psychological thriller about seemingly average Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler), whose wife and daughter are brutally murdered during a home invasion. The killers are caught and Philadelphia prosecutor Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx) is assigned the case, but his boss forces him to make a deal with one of the killers: a light sentence of five years in jail for testifying against his accomplice, who is given the death sentence. Shelton is far from satisfied.

Ten years later, Shelton gets his revenge, killing the man who got away with his family's murder and openly confessing to doing so. And he doesn't stop there. He strategically begins killing off key members who were involved in the case...from inside of prison.

But the film isn't about Shelton's revenge against his wife's and daughter's killer. It's about making a statement about the criminal justice system's failures. In particular, its failure to keep Shelton's family's killer locked up for the rest of his life or from being sentenced to death.

Getting revenge against a murderer is kind of a worn out plot (though film makers continue to find new ways to keep such a story line interesting.) So it was refreshing to see a plot that goes beyond revenge, raising questions about how just, or rather unjust, the criminal justice system can be. Of course, this is not to condone Shelton's actions. But despite the film's overexaggeration of making this statement, it cleverly proves a point: the criminal justice system constantly fails, almost making it just as guilty as the murderers they lightly punish or set free.

While the film's tone certainly is a serious one, Shelton's occasional witty lines slightly lighten the film, if only for a few seconds, and turn Shelton into one of those characters who you can't decide whether to love or hate. He's dark and twisted (and played flawlessly by Butler) as is the movie itself. It's a movie that will make you sad, angry, cringe...But most of all, it will make you think about and question our criminal justice system.

Filled with plenty of action, twists, wit, drama, and a plot that makes a simple statement in almost a genius way, "Law Abiding Citizen" will certainly not leave you disappointed.