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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.
A preposterous exercise in high-minded brutality, "Law Abiding Citizen" tries to pass itself off as a dialectic on justice betrayed, but instead plays like a snuff film with our nation's legal system as the victim.
Sure, it's outta place for October, but there's no reason you can't enjoy a mindless piece of candy against the backdrop of fall foliage.
Law Abiding Citizen is such a lazy action-drama underachiever, it seems unfair to target stars Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler for bringing their C game.
Say what you will about Death Wish, but Charles Bronson was never boring.
This strikes me as narrative cheating, but you may play the critical game by more relaxed rules.
Law Abiding Citizen may be the most nihilistic movie I've ever seen.
It's exactly the kind of film the phrase 'by-the-numbers' was invented for, but like the best genre films, it acknowledges its niche and goes all out to top its predecessors.
One of the more repugnant examples of Hollywood's cheap-thrill approach to violence, its voyeuristic brutality is matched only by its innate stupidity.
The film can't seem to make up its mind whether it wants to be an audience pleasing popcorn treat or a serious, political thriller. It ends up being partly both... with varying degrees of success.
F. Gary Gray directs with a poker face that just makes the enterprise uglier.
Putting aside the ideological posturing, this hyper-violent fantasy about a seemingly unstoppable killer who continues his murder spree behind bars delivers on its promise of an intriguing mystery, however far-fetched.
Violent vengeance thriller has lots of bloody brutality.
While one man's terrorist may be another's freedom fighter, it's not quite as simple when it comes to CIA operatives and your basic serial killer. Or rather, a CIA psycho family man that might make Jack The Ripper envious.
While one man's terrorist may be another's freedom fighter, it's not quite as simple when it comes to CIA operatives and your basic serial killer. Or rather, a CIA psycho family man that might make Jack The Ripper envious.
The diverting garbage that is Law Abiding Citizen would be more deplorable if it were possible to take this wholly implausible film seriously.
For large portions of Law Abiding Citizen we're not sure who is going to be the winner here, nor who we want to be, and though it won't make for much of a date flick, as far as intelligent action flicks go, it gets two big burly thumbs up.
Law Abiding Citizen is totally ridiculous, overwrought, silly and unbelievable. It's a popcorn flick, and should be looked upon as such. But it's fun, entertaining in an exploitative kind of way, and horror fans will definitely get an eyeful.
While Law Abiding Citizen is in no sense a successful work of art, a film that offers the illicit thrill of cheering on an all-American terrorist is at least pursuing something more complex than ''moral clarity''.
A high-octane, high body-count thriller posing the question, how do you stop a psycho vigilante on a killing spree? Apparently, by any means necessary."
A high-octane, high body-count thriller posing the question, how do you stop a psycho vigilante on a killing spree? Apparently, by any means necessary.
Bloodshed and torture abound in this sadistic thriller with pretensions.
An entertaining thrill ride but not much more.
In another time and place, Law Abiding Citizen could have been an intelligent critique of a flawed criminal justice system. Instead, I present you Gerard Butler, ruthlessly hacking a guy into 25 little pieces.
The screenplay mashes up its elements and develops as a hairbrained plot without enough character substanc
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