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Movies / Upcoming / Law Abiding Citizen
Law Abiding Citizen

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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.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for strong bloody brutal violence and torture, a scene of rape, and pervasive language

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Oct 16, 2009 Wide

Box Office: $67,190,452

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

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Reviews for Law Abiding Citizen

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Jamie Foxx's Nick mostly repeats the part played by Denzel Washington in Ricochet, the superior first incarnation of Law Abiding Citizen.

Full Review Source: Nitrate Online | comment Comment
11/19/09
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
Nitrate Online

Entertaining, without making sense. Film tries to say something about the judicial system, but fails badly. Nevertheless, an intriguing idea. Paul Chambers, CNN.

Full Review Source: CNNRadio | comment Comment
11/11/09
Paul Chambers
Paul Chambers
CNNRadio

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?

Full Review Source: Examiner.com | comment Comment
11/06/09
Adam Lippe
Adam Lippe
Examiner.com

Shamelessly crass and blatantly stupid. There oughta be laws against films like this.

Full Review Source: Christianity Today | comment Comment
10/31/09
Josh Hurst
Josh Hurst
Christianity Today

full review on Movies for the Masses

Full Review Source: Movies for the Masses | comment Comment
10/30/09
Joseph Proimakis
Joseph Proimakis
Movies for the Masses

So blatantly nonsensical that the action quickly tips over into campiness.

Full Review Source: Lessons of Darkness | comment 3 Comments
10/26/09
Nick Schager
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness

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.

Full Review Source: Suite101.com | comment Comment
10/25/09
Nick Rogers
Nick Rogers
Suite101.com

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."

Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment 1 Comment
10/22/09
Sean Means
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune

Sadistic and silly, 'Law Abiding Citizen' takes the revenge movie to ridiculous extremes.

Full Review Source: Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) | comment 4 Comments
10/21/09
Linda Cook
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

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.

Full Review Source: ReviewExpress.com | comment 2 Comments
10/21/09
Diana Saenger
Diana Saenger
ReviewExpress.com

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.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment 1 Comment
10/21/09
Bill Goodykoontz
Bill Goodykoontz
Arizona Republic
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

You won't like yourself for liking it, but you probably will like it

Full Review Source: jackiekcooper.com | comment 1 Comment
10/20/09
Jackie K. Cooper
Jackie K. Cooper
jackiekcooper.com

Has the audience for these kinds of films demanded this sort of torture-porn titillation from their popcorn thrillers?

Full Review Source: Movieline | comment 1 Comment
10/20/09
Michelle Orange
Michelle Orange
Movieline

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!

Full Review Source: BET.com | comment Comment
10/20/09
Clay Cane
Clay Cane
BET.com

There's the core of a fascinating amoral movie here before it gets amped up into a standard thriller

Full Review Source: I.E. Weekly | comment Comment
10/19/09
Amy Nicholson
Amy Nicholson
I.E. Weekly

When smart people make dumb movies.

Full Review Source: Illinois Times | comment Comment
10/19/09
Charles Koplinski
Charles Koplinski
Illinois Times

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.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
10/18/09
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Pervasively absurd yet generally entertaining...

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment 3 Comments
10/18/09
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

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?

Full Review Source: Sly Fox | comment 1 Comment
10/18/09
Kam Williams
Kam Williams
Sly Fox

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.

Full Review Source: Tri-City Herald | comment 3 Comments
10/18/09
Gary Wolcott
Gary Wolcott
Tri-City Herald
 
 
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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. Opens in new window
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