Clyde Shelton is an upstanding family man whose wife and daughter are brutally murdered during a home invasion. When the killers are caught, Nick Rice, a hotshot young Philadelphia prosecutor, is assigned to the case. Over his objections, Nick is forced by his boss to offer one of the suspects a light sentence in exchange for testifying against his accomplice. Fast forward ten years. The man who got away with murder is found dead and Clyde Shelton coolly admits his guilt. Then he issues a warning to Nick: Either fix the flawed justice system that failed his family, or key players in the trial will die. Soon Shelton follows through on his threats, orchestrating from his jail cell a string of spectacularly diabolical assassinations that can be neither predicted nor prevented. Philadelphia is gripped with fear as Shelton's high-profile targets are slain one after another and the authorities are powerless to halt his reign of terror. Only Nick can stop the killing, and to do so he must outwit this brilliant sociopath in a harrowing contest of wills in which even the smallest misstep means death. With his own family now in Shelton's crosshairs, Nick finds himself in a desperate race against time facing a deadly adversary who seems always to be one step ahead.

You are not supposed to cheer for the villain of the film and that is what Law Abiding Citizen does it makes you cheer for a villain you know you shouldn’t be rooting for. The best part though is at the same time you are rooting for them and body count is stacking up and the crimes are becoming more despicable you can’t help but continuing to like and root for the villain even if you are beginning to despise him at the same time. Law Abiding Citizen balances that act of repulsion of the villain and also liking him magnificently you are never sure who you want to see win and that drags you into the movie and never lets you go. The film is one of those types of films you leave with a Wow on your lips and wanting to see it again.

The film also asks a few questions that may not be as easy to swallow like is our justice system so flawed that it should be torn down and rebooted and that is one of the reasons even though what Gerald Butler is doing is so very wrong you can’t help but sympathize with him. He lost his family, his wife and his child and the justice system didn’t honor its commitment to him and prosecute and punish those who perpetrated the act effectively. He has a right to be mad at the justice system, he has a right to want to seek some justice of his own and that is what captures you as an audience and doesn’t let you flinch away from the violence even if you want to.

Law Abiding Citizens like its character plays a game of chess with its audience always trying to stay two steps ahead of where they think they might going and it pulls of this masterful chess game tell the very end. Some might predict what the possible outcome might be and how the film ends but they will never predict how that outcome unfolds and comes to play. I was entranced by the movie and drawn in as it was done masterfully from start to finish,

Gerard Butler is a strange actor because he makes some strange choices at what kind of films he does. He flips from romantic mind numbing comedies to action packed thrillers like he was flipping on and off a light switch. He is definitely better in these kind of films as he has an intensity that just adds so much to these types of characters. Jamie Foxx does a good job as well to counterpart him and he is actually quite a good actor who just doesn’t always choose the right roles. Law Abiding Citizen is a must see.

Grade: A-