LAW ABIDING CITIZEN
4 out of 5 stars

a very INTENSE film about how one man strives to gain satisfaction and thus vengeance for the murders of his wife and daughter by taking on...the entire u.s. legal system!


it's almost DEXTER-like, actually... (that except w/ the whole serial killer angle) clyde isn't a serial killer. just a pissed-off husband/father... but let us start from the very beginning! the story starts with the violent crime. clyde shelton (gerard butler) is just an average guy, living in surburban philly with his beautiful wife and 5 year old daughter. he's just a "law abiding citizen", but when he opens the door, 2 filthy/violent men attack him to steal items in his home. the breaking/entering is violent, but then one of the men rapes his wife, and kills his daughter... (all the while clyde is watching helplessly tied up) it's disgusting, but what's more disgusting is the fact that assistant district attorney nick rice (jamie foxx) decides that it'd be a win/win situation for all (more like himself) to plea this case out. clyde is speechless, and doesn't understand why nick is doing this. so, he spends the next 10 years planning the ultimate cat/mouse game of vengeance...resulting in many deaths and some a very interesting twist at the very end! :)

this movie reminded me SO MUCH of this other vengeance/legal thriller i've seen, where the guilty party is just as cunning as the legal counsel. has anyone seen fracture with anthony hopkins and ryan gosling? it's really good, and this is on par with it! i think gerard butler's character is a stretch from the norm (he turns out to be an ex-CIA low impact kinetic expert...oh, comeon!), but the moves he makes to mess with jamie foxx's character is pretty clever. the scene with the cell phone & the judge is so INYOURFACE, i nearly jumped out of my seat! however, the best part(s) of this movie is the little twist at the end + the soundtrack with that beautiful cello...

p.s. KUDOS to viola davis for her small but stellar performance as the mayor of philly. ALWAYS love her... ;)