Law Abiding Citizen

Our flawed justice system is sometimes infuriating and revenge is a great motivator, but this example of vigilante nonsense masquerading as a psychological thriller pushes credulity into the realm of absurdity. Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) is an ordinary Philadelphia citizen until his wife and daughter are murdered by drug-crazed thugs. After the killers are caught, Assistant District Attorney Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx) arranges a plea deal, giving one of them a light sentence with early parole in order to obtain the death penalty for his accomplice--at which point Shelton goes nuts. Flash-forward 10 years: Rice has become an even bigger prosecutor, while Shelton opts for vengeance, making sure that the condemned killer's lethal injection is agonizing and strapping the killer-who-got-away-with-murder to a table and hacking him apart. Consumed by sadistic rage, Shelton has no problem being sent to prison but issues a warning to Nick to fix the corrupt judicial system or all the high-profile players will die, one by one. Even behind bars, Shelton seems able to stage spectacular assassinations, fiendishly bargaining for a comfortable bed to spare a lawyer and a steak dinner to save a judge's life. Written by Kurt Wimmer and directed by F. Gary Gray, the film's concept leads to an emotional quagmire—one can neither sympathize with Shelton, a psychopathic terrorist, nor empathize with the shady, self-absorbed Rice, who has blatantly abused his power. To top it off, the implausible cat-and-mouse plot has such ludicrous holes that it's criminally contrived. Not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by producers Lucas Foster and Alan Siegel, a “Law in Black and White” behind-the-scenes featurette (15 min.), visual effects progression scenes (7 min.), “The Justice of Law Abiding Citizen” featurette (6 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray version is the addition of the unrated cut of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a disappointing film.] (S. Granger)