Law Abiding Citizen (Film Review)

2009 Overture Films
Directed by: F. Gary Gray; Written by: Kurt Wimmer
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Gerard Butler, Bruce McGill, Colm Meaney, Leslie Bibb, Michael Irby, and Regina Hall
MPAA: Rating; Running Time: 118 Minutes
The Nicsperiment Score: 6/10

Clyde Shelton answers a knock at the door, two intruders come in, beat him unconscious, murder his young daughter, and rape and murder his wife. When the case goes to court, the prosecuting attorney, Nick Rice, doesn't want to risk lowering his conviction rate, so he makes a deal with the chief offender, Darby, offering him a light sentence so that the perpetrator will rat out his accomplice, who actually only stood watching in horror while Darby raped and murdered. Clyde is incensed and feels the justice system has not only failed his family, but is failed, and spends the next ten years planning his revenge. Meanwhile, Nick goes on living his life, oblivious to the monster he's helped create...until a decade after the Shelton case, when those involved, including his colleagues, begin to be murdered in gruesome ways. Turns out the murderer is Clyde, who has some kind of message-stating master plan...and Nick and his family might be next...

Hey, here's a segue for you:

F. Gary Gray's directorial debut, Friday, is a hilarious comedy, but he hasn't touched that genre since. Instead, he's mostly rolled out unremarkable after unremarkable action film and drama...except for the majority of 2009's Law Abiding Citizen. The first 100 minutes of Law Abiding Citizen are Gray's magnum opus, featuring huge thrills, shocking twists and turns, and an intriguing central villain, Shelton, who also doubles as a protagonist. Gray is directing out of his mind here, building tension, telling the story through imaginative shots and blocking...but then Kurt Wimmer's script veers off a cliff. 

Up until that final 20 minutes, Law Abiding Citizen presents a character who has thought of every possibility, planned meticulously, yet suddenly becomes borderline incompetent. It's bad writing and it completely derails the film, letting down Gray's direction and Gerard Butler's furiously righteous performance (few actors could make someone who commits such despicable acts so rootable).

In fact, it's almost like Gray and Wimmer are at war here more than Shelton and Rice, as Gray presents a film that challenges the legal system and favors Shelton, while Wimmer seems to think the audience doesn't care about any of that stuff, and only regards it as setup so that the Rice character can be victorious. Unfortunately, this means that Law Abiding Citizen at first juggles heavy topics, but in the end, says nothing, doesn't satisfy. However, to see Gray at his best, and Butler near it, those first 100 minutes are a must watch.