Jamie Foxx's Nick mostly repeats the part played by Denzel Washington in Ricochet, the superior first incarnation of Law Abiding Citizen.
Law Abiding Citizen (2009)
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Reviews Counted:105
Fresh:24
Rotten:81
Average Rating:4.3/10
Consensus: Unnecessarily violent and unflinchingly absurd, Law Abiding Citizen is plagued by subpar acting and a story that defies reason.
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:29-11-2009
Synopsis: In LAW ABIDING CITIZEN, a prisoner's incredible reign over the city outside his cell is interrupted by an assistant district attorney. Gerard Butler (300) stars.
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Gerard Butler, Viola Davis, Bruce McGill
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Gerard Butler, Viola Davis, Bruce McGill, Leslie Bibb, Colm Meaney, Regina Hall
Director: F. Gary Gray
Director: F. Gary Gray
Screenwriter: Kurt Wimmer
Producer: Mark Gill, Gerard Butler, Lucas Foster, Alan Siegel, Kurt Wimmer
Composer: Brian Tyler
Studio: Overture
Reviews for Law Abiding Citizen
Entertaining, without making sense. Film tries to say something about the judicial system, but fails badly. Nevertheless, an intriguing idea. Paul Chambers, CNN.
It's never clear how we're supposed to feel about Butler and when he's gone too far. Should he kill the judge? Maybe the court clerk for filing the paperwork?
Shamelessly crass and blatantly stupid. There oughta be laws against films like this.
So blatantly nonsensical that the action quickly tips over into campiness.
F. Gary Gray draws up some nifty car explosions, but he delivered a more exciting, thoughtful and better-acted system-challenging movie 11 years ago with "The Negotiator." This is immeasurably dumb sludge masquerading as rage against the machine.
It's a toss-up what's dumber: the forehead-slapping contrivances director F. Gary Gray sets up for each killing, or the Neanderthal political "message."
Sadistic and silly, 'Law Abiding Citizen' takes the revenge movie to ridiculous extremes.
Director F. Gary Gray (The Italian Job) heightens a sense of anticipation with his deft direction, and Butler delivers an excellent performance as a brainiac who can outthink a horde of law officials.
As a social statement, Law Abiding Citizen is a flawed attempt at holding the legal system accountable for its shortcomings. As a movie, it's a ridiculous execution of a misguided concept.
You won't like yourself for liking it, but you probably will like it
Has the audience for these kinds of films demanded this sort of torture-porn titillation from their popcorn thrillers?
What might've saved the movie is if Viola Davis was the one who was wronged by the justice system and seeking revenge. Ms. Viola could read the back of a Listerine bottle and make it award-worthy!
There's the core of a fascinating amoral movie here before it gets amped up into a standard thriller
Gerard Butler's scene-chewing performance holds interest even as the story alternately melts and congeals like a mobile bowl of poorly mixed Jell-O.
A high-octane, high body-count thriller posing the question, how do you stop a psycho on a killing spree who's already behind bars?
Revenge has never been so bland. Much of the fault for the failure of Law Abiding Citizen lands at the feet of its two equally monochrome stars Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler.
Latest News for Law Abiding Citizen
October 15, 2009:
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This week, we've got a wild rumpus (Where the Wild Things Are, starring Max Records and Catherine Keener), a legal skirmish (Law Abiding Citizen, starring Jamie Foxx and Gerard... More...
October 14, 2009:
Five Favorite Films with F. Gary Gray
Director F. Gary Gray began his career creating music videos for several big name R&B and hip-hop artists in the early 90s, including Ice Cube, TLC, and OutKast. In 1995, Gray... More...
October 06, 2009:
Win a $300 Apple Store Gift Card from Rotten Tomatoes and F. Gary Gray
The iPhone is cool, but it's even cooler to get one for free!
You could be the lucky winner of a $300 Apple Store gift card, if you enter the Law Abiding Citizen Re-Tweet... More...
September 28, 2009:
New: Brand New Trailer/Poster. ![]()
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