![]() ![]() Shelton surrenders and ends up where he wants to be –in prison. It’s a pretty gruesome torture scene (I closed my eyes.) Yes, the creep deserved every moment of pain and horror, but how do we now feel about the man who wrought such a meticulously planned vengeance? That’s because he’s lying on a slab in an empty warehouse, paralyzed, and being cut into pieces by a buzz saw held by–Shelton. Everyone assumes it was Darby who interfered with the execution chemicals and the police search for him.īut Darby is nowhere to be found. What was supposed to be a painless death turns into agony with plenty of witnesses. ![]() The prison execution of the other criminal is botched. No longer will he live the life of a powerless law abiding citizen.įlash forward ten years. So, we are told, is the truth of our so-called blind justice system. “It’s not what you know,” he explains to Shelton, “it’s what you can prove in court.” But Rice is obsessed with keeping his 96% prosecution rate, and if he doesn’t make the deal with Darby, he runs the risk of a trial that will let both men off. He knows Darby is the murderer–he saw him. He wants both criminals prosecuted to the limit of the law. Shelton, still catatonic from the loss of his wife and child, is horrified. The ambitious prosecutor Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx) makes a deal with the punk Darby-if he turns state’s evidence against his partner (who did not commit the murders), Darby will serve a short prison sentence while the other man will be tried and sentenced to death. Two violent punks invade his home, beat him to a pulp and one of them, Darby, brutally murders his wife and daughter as Shelton lies helplessly watching. Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) is a small-time inventor, happily married with an adorable young daughter. It’s Philadelphia, a city rich with magnificent architecture both reminiscent of its colonial days as well as its modern metropolis persona. ![]() In fact, the guy you’re supposed to care about–the crime victim whose family was slaughtered–you end up hoping gets wiped out. Why? It’s all cerebral–clever plot, pitch-perfect timing, “gotcha” surprises–but in the end you don’t care about any of the characters. Law Abiding Citizen is one of those high-budget action flicks that are masterfully done– perfectly edited, beautifully shot, fine performances from everyone, even a great musical score. ![]()
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