Law Abiding Citizen
Jamie Foxx, Gerard Butler, Viola Davis
Directed by F. Gary Gray
Many of you won't see any reason to bitch about a savage revenge drama that keeps the bodies piling up. As a DVD rental to watch while scarfing pizza and beer, there's not much to complain about either. But Law Abiding Citizen is out there charging top dollar at the multiplex. And for what? 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.
Slumming Oscar winner Jamie Foxx grabs top billing as Nick Rice, a Philly DA on the make who lets off a sniveling rapist psychopath for turning state's evidence and advancing Nick's career. This puts a major bug up the ass of Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler, minus his 300 sandals), a brainy scientist whose wife and daughter were tortured and murdered by said psychopath. Clyde spends the next 10 years planning an elaborate payback, the grosser the better, against Nick and the entire justice system.
All the carnage lights a fire of rage under the mayor (Doubt Oscar nominee Viola Davis, who deserves so much better). But our Clyde is not to be trifled with. Even when this bad boy is captured and jailed, his diabolical schemes continue unabated. I'll never tell how because if I did you'd say it's bullshit, which it most assuredly is. Director F. Gary Gray (Friday, The Italian Job) keeps splashing the screen with gore so the out-for-blood crowd will lap it up. But, jeez, did the "surprise" climax have to be this feye-rollingly stupid?
-
POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix
Movie Reviews
-
star ratingSony Pictures
-
star ratingWarner Bros. Pictures
-
star rating
-
star ratingA24
-
star ratingUniversal Pictures
-
star ratingSony Pictures Classics
We may use your e-mail address to send you the newsletter and offers that may interest you, on behalf of Rolling Stone and its partners. For more information please read our Privacy Policy.












Picks From Around the Web
loading comments...
COMMENTS
Read More