Movie Tour: Law Abiding Citizen

I had Sunday evening to myself, and decided last-minute to go see a movie that I knew Katie wouldn't like to see.

Plot Summary

Gerard Butler plays Clyde Shelton, a nice guy whose family is murdered during a home invasion. Jamie Foxx plays prosecutor Nick Rice, who ends up making a deal with one of the murders primarily to maintain his conviction rate. 10 years later, Shelton begins to show the ridiculous nature of the legal system by his systematic execution of all who were involved in the case.

Review

Law Abiding Citizen is both smart and intense. As you can imagine, in a movie with a plot such as this, there is quite a bit of violence. There are only a couple of brief scenes of intense violence, and the rest of the violence is relatively tame (given today's standards). No one will confuse this for a Tarantino movie, so the violence is not terrible, but I think the best way to describe it is "brief and intense." The way that everything unfolds is incredibly smart. On the one hand, you want to root for Shelton, because you can understand why he is doing what he is doing. On the other hand, you can tell that he has gone over the edge and needs to be stopped.

Bottom Line

This is one of those movies that the more I think about it, the more I liked it. If you don't mind strong language and violence, you might like this movie. I think what I like about it the most is how the plot turns over the course of the movie. At this point, you might want to wait for it to come out on DVD and get it from your local Redbox.

Best Part

If you haven't picked up on it yet, I like how this movie blends intellectual elements with intense action. Trying to figure out what is going on over the course of the movie will definitely keep you on your toes.