The Weinstein Company
In 2009,Law bide Citizenpitted Jamie Foxx againstGerard Butler . In one recess sits Nick Rice ( Foxx ) , a Philadelphia lawyer with a high strong belief rate who later becomes the district attorney . In the other quoin is Clyde Shelton ( Butler ) , an engineer who find the slaying of his wife and daughter by Clarence Darby ( Christian Stolte ) . When Nick cut a deal with Darby for a lighter sentence due to bollocks up grounds , Clyde embarks on a retaliation - fuel quest to take out the justice system and anyone who wronged him .
Directed by F. Gary Gray , Law Abiding Citizeninstantly became a polarizing movie . Critically , the cinema tanked , but financially , it made two - and - a - one-half time its budget . critic and audiences seem shared on how to evaluateLaw Abiding Citizen . Fifteen years after , the audiences have acquire out , asLaw stick out Citizenremains a democratic film in both player ’ filmographies .
The Weinstein Company
Vigilante movie with a sinister side
The idea of a vigilante movie uprise to excrescence in the 1970s withDirty HarryandDeath Wish . These revenge thrillers have someone who adopt the laws into their own hands when the justice system lets them down . Even though the vigilante commits crimes , the audience can rationalise why they have to break big for justice to happen . It ’s why Max Rockatansky or John Rambo are viewed as Cuban sandwich , not crook . Their reason for commit the crimes outweigh the illegalities of their actions .
The film ’s hatchway moments establish Clyde as the victim - turn - vigilance man after he witnesses the execution of his wife and daughter . The justice system , specifically Nick Rice , fails Clyde right off when the murderer receives a lighter sentence after cut a lot . In most vigilante films , the booster battle the scheme for most of the flick before exacting their retaliation .
This is whereLaw Abiding Citizendifferentiates itself fromThe Outlaw Josey WalesorSudden Impact . Instead of killing Darby speedily , Clyde inflicts pain and excruciation on the manslayer , dismembering him first to make him suffer . Clyde does not feel sad for what he does . Clyde is so break by the system that rather of getting his retaliation and moving on , he want to bestow the entire system of rules down , no matter how many death it pick out . Clyde transforms from vigilante to plenty manslayer . Clyde is not Batman ; he ’s the Joker , an agent of chaos .
Gerard Butler is the patron saint of star-driven action thrillers
Butler has been call the “ King of the B - Movie . ” The Scottish actor is preserve the 1980s and 1990s action pic alive . From his study in the Has fall series andDen of Thievesentries toGreenlandandPlane , Butler has a knack for work toughened , butch role who are either in law enforcement or possess elite combat skills .
Law Abiding Citizenmight be too expensive ( $ 50 million budget ) to be view a B - pic . However , it ’s a adept - driven action thriller , a popular B - movie format . The selling distributor point ofLaw Abiding Citizenis Butler versus Foxx . Even without anterior knowledge of the film , someone could look at theLaw Abiding Citizenposter and determine the plot involved a showdown between Butler and Foxx . In a metre where cinematic universes require innumerous hours of deep dives , the simpleness ofLaw Abiding Citizenis a refreshing change of step .
Embrace the absurdity
Upon its expiration , Law Abiding Citizenwas put down by critic . OnRotten Tomatoes , Law Abiding Citizenhas a 26 % on the Tomatometer , with critic consensus account it as “ unnecessarily violent and unflinchingly absurd . ” How to cover the absurdness is where critic and the interview differ . If you viewLaw stay Citizenwith a critical middle , you ’ll get obsessed over likely plot holes . “ How was Clyde able to tamper with the lethal shot before conk to prison ? ” “ How can Clyde be in two place at once ? ” “ How can Clyde plant so many bombs in so little time ? ”
For your own sanity , do n’t waste metre trying to figure out the logistics . Think of Clyde as Jigsaw from theSaw series . He ’s a scoundrel past the point of no return . villain find a direction to do preposterous thing , and the uncovering as to how Clyde executes his plan from solitary confinement is ridiculous .
And that ’s fine ! Most of the action movies with Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger are totally unrealistic , but we love them anyway . The same can be said forLaw Abiding Citizen , which has a 75 % on the Popcornmeter and gross over $ 127 million worldwide . bask the interpersonal chemistry between the two stars and the suspense of the plot of ground . hug the absurdity , and you ’ll be entertain .
WatchLaw Abiding CitizenonStarz .
