Law Abiding Citizen (2009) – Action Film Review

Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler Star in Unfocused Vigilante Thriller

Oct 16, 2009

Law Abiding Citizen, starring Jaime Foxx and Gerard Butler, attempts to indict the legal system. The verdict? This thriller is guilty of poor writing and direction.

Law Abiding Citizen has been promoted as a thoughtful thriller that promises a cat-and-mouse game between its stars, Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler. Its conflict between two men constrained by the legal system’s approach to justice suggests a film distantly related to Se7en (1995) or Michael Clayton (2007). But the movie’s haphazard script, by Kurt Wimmer (Street Kings, 2008), and the pedestrian direction of F. Gary Gray (The Italian Job, 2003) is an unfocused disappointment.

A lengthy exposition attempts to develop conflicting sympathies for the main characters. Clyde Shelton (Butler) witnesses the murders of his wife and daughter. His devastation turns to rage when he learns Nick Rice (Foxx), an ambitious prosecutor in the Philadelphia district attorney’s office, has arranged a plea bargain with one of the accused in order to guarantee a conviction. Clyde sees the deal as a betrayal of justice and of himself.

Ten years later, someone tampers with the lethal-injection execution of one of the killers. Shortly after, the second killer is tortured and killed. Clyde readily claims responsibility, claiming the killings are part of his plan to take justice for his family. In fact, these murders are only part of his plan to expose the flawed justice system.

While still behind bars, Clyde begins killing individuals who were involved in the case. Nick rushes to discover how Clyde executes his plans and how to stop him. As those closest to Nick become victims and targets, and the citizens of Philadelphia are held hostage by fear, Nick is forced to reconsider his ideas about the relationship between the law and justice.

Wimmer’s Script Wastes Talented Cast, Including Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler

Law Abiding Citizen builds momentum for its first half hour. It’s not difficult to sympathize with Clyde even as he carries out a series of murders, some of which are derivative of the torture porn of Eli Roth’s Saw movies. After all, Clyde helplessly watched as his family was murdered; Butler’s pain at that sight is tangible, and his transformation from a pasty, pudgy family man to a buff sociopath is believable enough.

In an early courtroom scene, Clyde serves as his own defense, then castigates the judge (the understated Annie Corley) for revealing the flaws built into the justice system. The moment is a bit overdone, and Clyde’s impassioned, persuasive rhetoric quickly gives way to ranting profanity. But one can see the movie’s abandoned potential as Nick reacts to Clyde’s perspective, telegraphed by Foxx’s familiar lip curl.

The “justice as corrupt” conceit quickly falls apart. Clyde turns out not simply to be a super spy with the high-tech abilities and unlimited resources to enact his plans. Butler runs with this development, at odds with the film’s opening, as his role becomes a scenery-chewing cliché. His turn as an unstable yet brilliant killer is hindered by dialogue that’s so hyperbolic and clunky it’s laughable: “Some lessons must be learned in blood.”

As Nick, Foxx fares no better – although he doesn’t appear to be working as hard as Butler to turn in a strong performance. Nick’s shift from prosecutor to beat cop is one of many logical inconsistencies revealing the script’s inability to commit to a genre. Nick eventually advocates suspending Clyde’s civil rights and becomes a vigilante himself. The transformation isn’t an ironic turn or a commentary about justice; it’s a tired plot twist leading to the film’s climax.

Wasted are the talents of the supporting cast, including Colm Meaney, Bruce McGill, Leslie Bibb, and Viola Davis, all of whom offer stronger performances than their one-dimensional roles deserve. Colm Meaney’s familiar wise-cracking cop offers some of the film’s few, welcomed laughs. And Viola Davis, as Philadelphia’s mayor, demonstrates an iron will even as her implementation of a near-police state makes absolutely no sense.

Gray, usually a stylish director, relies on over-the-top action and loud explosion that end up exposing rather than overcoming the script’s weaknesses. It’s unfortunate, because Law Abiding Citizen could have been a taut thriller about justice, law, and vigilantism. Instead, Law Abiding Citizen is a sloppy movie that abandons the moral debate at its core. What remains celebrates the suspension of civil rights without the thoughtfulness, coherence, or entertainment value of a Dirty Harry movie.

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