‘Law Abiding Citizen’ Crashes and Burns
-----Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler are no doubt talented actors, so their team-up for an action movie about true justice sounded like a lot of fun. Yeah, I’d pay to see that movie. The trailer itself contained some absolutely awesome lines, promising action, and even some cool effects work. Sounds like the makings of an action classic. Unfortunately, ‘Law Biding Citizen’ has a second half.
-----‘Law Abiding Citizen’ tells the tale of a Clyde Shelton, a man whose wife and daughter are, somewhat inexplicably, murdered. When the justice system condemns one of the perpetrators to death, the other one gets a short term due to his cooperation. This enrages Shelton, but his lawyer, Nick Rice, says it’s the best option. 10 years later, when the first criminal is about to fulfill his death sentence, he is brutally murdered. Shelton, an apparent genius, has decided to kill everyone involved with the injustice that surrounded the trial of the murderers, even if that means taking down the whole justice system, and killing everyone.
-----Gerard Butler is profound in the role of mourning family man, Clyde Shelton. Well, he is while his character still has a believable motive. In somewhat of a Joker-reminiscent killing spree like that seen in ‘The Dark Knight,’ awesome lines and silent intensity are portrayed superbly by Butler…for the first 50% of ‘Law Abiding Citizen.’ Unfortunately that’s when everything turns for the worst, in an irredeemable bout of filmmaking. Anyway, Jamie Foxx costars as up-and-coming lawyer, Nick Rice. Unfortunately, Foxx’s character is pretty bland throughout, going from a tolerant, generic archetype, to a stupid and unbelievable victim of the film’s insultingly horrific conclusion. You wind up wanting to root for Butler’s character, and indifferent towards Foxx’s character, only to realize in the end just how ludicrous they both are in motive. When the credits finally roll, and the audience finds itself in disbelief at just how bad the ending was, you’ll realize you don’t really care about either of the leads anymore.
-----The first half of ‘Law Abiding Citizen’ is a blast. In the tradition of the classic action film, ‘The Negotiator’, quotable lines, gritty surprises, and intense action lead the way to what promises to be a thrilling and all-explaining ending. Indeed, ‘Law Abiding Citizen’ is the sort of film that banks 100% on the ending reveal, which is meant to satisfy the viewer, now convinced that Butler’s character is, ultimately, a genius. About three quarters the way through, you’ll start to question the direction, but alas, you’ll still have faith in the filmmakers who have entertained you so far. And eventually, as the film desperately tries to answer the many questions brought about, you’ll slowly start to realize you’re going to be anything but satisfied. It’s as if the first half of the film and the second half of the film were made by two different Directors, with two different screenplay writers. Screenwriter Kurt Wimmer seems to have made the film up as he went, banking on a premise that he had no idea how to solve. Pretty soon, Butler’s character begins to contradict himself to an absurd level, and it only gets worse when Foxx’s dull character starts to condone Butler’s methods. Is everyone in this movie on crack? What exactly were they smoking when they thought they’d make us believe the bizarre and utterly worthless ending? Is Foxx’s character brainwashed? Is that it? Is that how he managed to miss all of the bodies lying around him?
-----The film, from a technical standpoint, is very average. Nothing really adds or takes away from the movie. With dark cinematography and an occasionally pleasing but primarily generic musical score, perhaps the only element that really steps up is the film’s ability to surprise you with its sheer violence, if only once or twice in its earlier minutes. And don’t be deceived by my thrashing of the film, it barely misses the rent-it rating, due to the fun first half. You are completely wrapped up in the story and character for about 40 minutes, in what was threatening to be an action classic. Some of the line delivery and intensity from Butler was exceptional, and you’re certainly on the edge of your seat as you wait for the big reveal that unfortunately turns out to be one of Hollywood’s biggest collapses of the year.
-----I’m all for suspending reality for the sake of far-fetched entertainment. And even with a strong first half, the viewer pretty much concedes a realistic ending early on. Yet that is a testament to just how ghastly the ending is when finally realized. You could probably make up an ending as good as or better than this one in about five minutes. It’s seriously worthless. I may even have been able to swallow the disappointing reveal, if the characters hadn’t suddenly changed their motives completely. Butler’s character must have been on some sort of drugs, his quest for revenge doing nothing but making him an exact replica of those who really had any hand in the death of his family. Even this may have been forgivable, but his character then continues to be angry at Foxx’s character, whom played a slightly selfish but ultimately minor role in the justice system’s fallacies. Even this may have been bearable, but the icing on the cake is Foxx’s character’s eventual conformity to Butler’s nonexistent righteous expedition. The film has one of the worst endings of the year, killing potential and brain-cells faster than you can say, ‘Law Abiding Citizen.’
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