Where there is Gerard Butler, I know I will not be disappointed; but I wasn’t expecting “Law Abiding Citizen” to blow me away. This movie far exceeded my expectations and left me on the edge of my seat for the majority of the time. It is smart, cunning and action-packed. I’d recommend it to anyone with a love for Gerard Butler, or just a good movie. Same difference, right?
The movie begins with Clyde Shelton, played by Gerard Butler, spending an average day like any other indoors with his wife and daughter. When the doorbell rings, he believes it to be the take-out he ordered. Surprisingly though, he is met by two men who force their way into his home, tying him and his family up, stabbing each of them several times and raping Clyde’s wife. As one of the unmasked men slides his blade into Clyde’s stomach, he says, “You can’t fight fate.” Clyde is the only survivor of the three. I just have to say as a side note that the night I watched this movie, I went home to an empty house where the power unexpectedly went out. This made my usually insouciant night of slumber into one of frenzied, sobbing panic. I’d have to say that “Law Abiding Citizen” was in large part due to this response because of the aforementioned scene. The fear of some menacing rogues who could potentially break into the house with the intent of stabbing and raping would make any girl living by herself a little freaked out.
But, back to the plot line. Clyde, being the only survivor, seeks vengeance through the legal system, hoping that he will receive justice by putting the perpetrators away for life or having them sentenced to death for the wrongs they did to his family. Though, when discussing the matter with his attorney Nick Rice, played by Jamie Foxx, he is told that the case would be better settled with a deal. The deal would ultimately dodge the financial downfall of both the firm and Clyde that the case would be sure to amass on trial. The deal would also ensure one of the men the death sentence and the other a few years in prison. Clyde, knowing that the man receiving the death sentence is wrongfully accused due to insubstantial evidence and the real murderer, Darby, is getting away scot free incurring a barely significant prison term, makes Clyde a helpless man. Clyde discovers that the government which is supposed to abide by the law and persecute those who don’t is, in reality, unwilling to right the wrongs if it is easier to make corrupt deals with bad men if it means that the law firms will not lose money in the process. This is, therefore, defined by our law firms as a “win” even though justice has not been duly served.
After Clyde sees Nick exchange a handshake with the Darby, he exits with a look of helpless fury. Ten years pass and Darby is back on the streets while the other man who broke in but didn’t harm any of Clyde’s family is up for lethal injection. Usually a painless procedure, the man ends up dying a gruesome death due to an unknown chemical added to the mix. On the only evidence found – a container for the foreign, lethal chemical – are the words, “You can’t fight fate.” This automatically sets the police on Darby’s track, leading him right into the open arms of a fate far worse than he could imagine.
After ten years and with nothing left to lose, Clyde launches his elaborate revenge plan, beginning with Darby’s gruesome death that somewhat resembled the dismemberment and slasher plots of the “Saw” series. With no effort to conceal his involvement in Darby’s murder, Clyde is arrested and taken into custody. The interesting part is that Clyde is the only prisoner who is still able to kill every person involved in the case regarding the death of his family – including Darby, the law firm and the government officials by extension – within the confines of his solitary jail cell.
This is unlike any other psychological thriller though in the fact that it appears at first glance to resemble the plotline of “The Punisher” where the protagonist wreaks havoc on all those who had a hand in murdering his family, but Clyde is different. He is seeking revenge, but not merely on those who murdered his family; he is teaching the attorneys and lawyers and government officials – the government in essence – that to be a law-abiding citizen, one must follow the laws and be judged accordingly, not to allow the corrupt to walk free just because that is the easier choice. Therefore, he is teaching his lesson by being the law-abiding citizen upholding the laws that all men are to be held by. “It’s gonna be biblical,” says a calm, collected Clyde as more people die for the sake of his message.
I don’t want to give anything away, but nearing the end there is a specific death where I was awe-struck. It reminded me of a question I was once asked: “Isn’t there something beautiful about death?” As this particular person died in an encasement of flames, there was something romantic about the scene. It wasn’t horrifying as it probably should have been, but rather was, for lack of a better word, beautiful.
I’d have to say that I could not figure out how Clyde was committing the murders from within the prison, but let me say, “Wow.” It is fantastic. There are twists and turns and if no one has told you how the film turns out, there is a great ending in store. I would recommend this film without a doubt. It’s the first movie in a long while where I was on the edge of my seat, felt swept off my feet and left me replaying the movie over and over, mulling over the rich content just once more. “You can’t fight fate”; so make sure you watch this one!
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