Vigilante movies hold a firm place in cinematic history, but for them to work, the vigilante needs to be a sympathetic anti-hero.
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10/15/09
Law Abiding Citizen (2009)
24
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:131
Fresh:32
Rotten:99
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.
Rated: 18 [See Full Rating]
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:27-11-2009
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
Director: F. Gary Gray
Reviews for Law Abiding Citizen
Director F. Gary Gray keeps the thrills coming at a relentless pace that leaves little time to ponder the Mack truck-sized holes in the logic.
10/15/09
A movie with no use for logic, or realism, or basic rules of what is and is not possible within our world.
10/15/09
Director F. Gary Gray seems to have picked up on some "Seven"-like aspects of the script to arrive at the film's visual look, but the effect it produces is more like "Saw V" crossed with every clichéd film about...a workaholic coming to appreciate his fam
10/15/09
The movie starts out as a potboiler with a troubling character arc; unfortunately, it ends up becoming a goofy, story-overwhelming Rube Goldberg contraption that would make the producers of the Saw series blush.
10/15/09
An exercise in illogic and Death Wish cribbing that lets a bunch of good actors collect big paychecks for playing way less than their A game.
10/15/09
The movie is not -- putting it courteously -- tightly constructed. The narrative shifts are jerky and the tone bounces around like a Jeep on a dirt road.
10/15/09
A particularly cynical brand of celluloid nihilism, in which über-wealthy movie producers finance their Hollywood mansions by marketing films to an audience feeling disenfranchised by the status quo.
10/15/09
A confused, contrived mess that would be laughable if it weren't so noxious and mean-spirited.
10/15/09
Like a lot of action-movie directors, Gray lacks the imagination to view the art of cat-and-mouse as more than a chance to play with state-of-the-art war technology.
10/15/09
When does a highly watchable movie stop being a beacon of enjoyment and turn into a morally reprehensible insult? For one, when its name happens to be Law Abiding Citizen.
10/15/09
All we're left with are ticking time bombs and a chunk of our own time that we'll never get back.
10/15/09
An implausible thriller with a few horror elements in the guise of social criticism.
10/15/09
Top CriticA flagrantly ridiculous thriller that tries to retrofit Saw to function as a mainstream, semi-respectable vigilante picture about the failings of our justice system.
10/15/09
a slick cat and mouse where occasional splashes of gore substitute for any emotional depth or narrative context
10/15/09
Law Abiding Citizen goes well beyond the realm of, to use a piece of legal terminology, reasonable doubt and hits the hammer until it arrives at the neighborhood of sheer ridiculousness with its tires smoking.
10/15/09
Somebody call Charles Bronson.
10/15/09
A ridiculous, white-collar Saw.
10/15/09
Somebody has given Law Abiding Citizen a lethal injection of absurdity. Although I have to say, as ridiculous movies go, this one has its moments.
10/15/09
[E]mblematic of the unpleasant streak that runs through the American zeitgeist today... that we have to do away with... the rule of law and that pesky Constitution in order to 'save' America...
10/15/09
Latest News for Law Abiding Citizen
October 15, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Where the Wild Things Are Is A Wild Rumpus
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. 
More...
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