Law Abiding Citizen
Two men, one looking to the right. Below another man looking to the left.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byF. Gary Gray
Written byKurt Wimmer
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyJonathan Sela
Edited byTariq Anwar
Music byBrian Tyler
Production
companies
Distributed byOverture Films
Release date
  • October 16, 2009 (2009-10-16)
Running time
118 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$53 million[1]
Box office$127.9 million[2]

Law Abiding Citizen is a 2009 American vigilante action thriller film[3][4][5] directed by F. Gary Gray, written by Kurt Wimmer, and starring Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler (who also co-produced). The film takes place in Philadelphia, telling the story of a man driven to seek justice while targeting not only his family's killer but also those who have supported a corrupt criminal justice system, intending to assassinate anyone supporting the system. Law Abiding Citizen was filmed on location in Philadelphia, and released theatrically by Overture Films in North America on October 16, 2009.

The film grossed $127.9 million worldwide but received generally negative reviews from critics. Despite this, it was nominated for a Saturn Award as the Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film of the year, as well as NAACP Image Award nominations for both Foxx (Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture) and Gray (Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture).

Plot

In a Philadelphia home invasion, Clarence Darby murders the wife and daughter of engineer Clyde Shelton, who is forced to watch. Prosecuting attorney Nick Rice is unable to securely convict Darby due to mishandled evidence. Unwilling to risk lowering his high conviction rate, he makes a deal with Darby; in exchange for testifying against his accomplice, Rupert Ames (who only intended to steal from Clyde and flee), Darby will plead guilty to third degree murder and receive a lighter sentence. Ames is convicted and sentenced to death, while Darby is released after a few years. Clyde feels betrayed by Nick and the justice system.

Ten years later, Ames is executed via lethal injection, but some of the execution chemicals had been switched and Ames dies in agonizing pain; evidence implicates Darby, who is alerted by an anonymous caller to a law enforcement team coming to arrest him. The caller uses knowledge of incriminating evidence in Darby's apartment to warn Darby that he's looking at life in prison and to escape. Darby hijacks a police car, forcing a lone officer to drive to a deserted warehouse. The officer is revealed to be Clyde, the caller. Darby attempts to shoot Clyde, but instead the gun paralyzes Darby with tetrodotoxin-coated spikes; Clyde straps Darby to a table, makes medical preparations to prolong Darby's suffering, and then video-records himself slowly torturing and eventually murdering Darby. When Darby's remains are found, evidence ties his death to Clyde; Clyde willingly surrenders and goes to prison.

In prison, Clyde demands a new mattress in his cell in exchange for a "confession." Nick initially refuses, but after learning that Clyde traumatized Nick's family with the video of Darby's murder, District Attorney Jonas Cantrell orders Nick to make the deal. In court, Clyde represents himself and successfully argues he should be granted bail, but instead berates the judge for accepting the legal precedent he cited, believing the judge too easily convinced and eager to release potential criminals; Clyde is then denied bail and also jailed for contempt of court.

After giving Nick his confession, Clyde demands an elaborate steak lunch from Del Frisco's and a music player be delivered to his cell by a specific time, in exchange for the location of Darby's now-missing lawyer. Nick agrees, though the lunch is delayed a few minutes courtesy of the warden's security measures. Once he has his meal, Clyde provides the coordinates leading to the location of the lawyer, but Darby's lawyer still suffocates inside a box due to a time-mechanized device. Meanwhile, Clyde kills his cellmate after sharing his meal, forcing the warden to secure him in solitary confinement.

Cantrell and Nick meet Bray, a CIA contact with knowledge of Clyde, and learn Clyde previously worked with the agency; Clyde's CIA employment consisted of eliminating nearly impossible targets. They are warned Clyde can kill anyone anytime he wishes and that if he is in jail, it is all part of a bigger plan. Bray finishes the meeting by suggesting to Nick and Cantrell that their best option is to kill Clyde. During a meeting with Nick and Cantrell, the judge is killed by an explosive hidden in her cell phone. Clyde explains to Nick that the murders are not about revenge, but the failures of the justice system. Clyde demands he be released and all charges dropped to end the killings.

Nick takes precautionary measures instead, moving his entire team into the prison to work throughout the night. After Clyde's deadline passes without incident, Nick releases his team. While walking to his car, a number of Nick's assistants are killed in car bombings, including Nick's assistant Sarah. Nick privately meets with Clyde, beating and yelling at him in frustration that, if they had tried to convict Ames and Darby, they might have gone free. Clyde counters that Nick is apathetic and that if he had at least tried but failed, Clyde would have accepted it. Nick demands an end to the killings, but Clyde responds that he is just beginning. While leaving Sarah’s funeral, Cantrell is killed by a weaponized bomb disposal robot. Nick readies his resignation, but the irate mayor instead promotes Nick to acting District Attorney and locks the city down.

Nick learns that Clyde owns a building near the prison. A tunnel inside leads to a cache of guns, disguises, and other equipment below the solitary confinement cells, with secret entrances to each cell. Nick realizes that Clyde intentionally sought solitary confinement, allowing him to leave the prison undetected and kill while misleading the police. Evidence points to Clyde's next target, City Hall, where the mayor is holding an emergency meeting. Nick and his men fail to find Clyde, instead discovering a suitcase bomb planted in the room below the meeting.

Clyde returns to his cell and is surprised to find Nick waiting for him. Clyde suggests another deal, but an enlightened Nick replies that he no longer makes deals with murderers. Nick tries to reason with Clyde, but Clyde activates the suitcase bomb. Nick immediately leaves, locking Clyde's cell behind him while Dunnegan closes off the secret passage. Hearing the ringtone of the detonator, Clyde discovers the bomb Nick hid underneath his bed. Clyde briefly smiles and returns to his bed, looking at his daughter's bracelet as the bomb explodes.

The epilogue shows Nick watching his daughter in a musical stage performance, an event which he previously had difficulty finding time to attend.

Cast

  • Jamie Foxx as Nicholas "Nick" Rice, a Philadelphia prosecutor who later became the Assistant DA
  • Gerard Butler as Clyde Shelton, an experienced engineer seeking revenge against Philadelphia's justice system after his family received no justice
  • Viola Davis as April Henry, Incumbent Mayor of Philadelphia
  • Bruce McGill as Jonas Cantrell, Philadelphia's District Attorney
  • Leslie Bibb as Sarah Lowell, Nick's assistant
  • Colm Meaney as Detective Dunnigan, a homicide detective for the Philadelphia Police Department
  • Regina Hall as Kelly Rice, Nick's wife
  • Michael Kelly as Bray, a CIA agent who warns Rice about Shelton
  • Michael Irby as Detective Garza, Dunnigan's partner
  • Roger Bart as Brian Bringham
  • Christian Stolte as Clarence Darby, a psychotic mobster personally responsible for murdering Clyde's wife and daughter
  • Gregory Itzin as Warden Iger, the warden of the prison Shelton was sent to
  • Emerald-Angel Young as Denise Rice, Nick's daughter
  • Annie Corley as Judge Laura Burch, a Philadelphia judge whose decision created ire for Shelton
  • Richard Portnow as Bill Reynolds, Darby's lawyer
  • Josh Stewart as Rupert Ames, a thug who assisted Darby in the home invasion

Development

Gerard Butler was initially signed on to play the prosecuting attorney, while Jamie Foxx was the criminal mastermind operating from inside prison,[6] a reversal of their roles in the final version.

Frank Darabont was expected to direct the film, but he left production due to creative differences with the producers.[7]

Production

Filming began in January 17, 2009 and took place in and around Philadelphia.[8] Filming locations included Philadelphia's City Hall, Laurel Hill Cemetery[9] and the now closed Holmesburg Prison. Holmesburg's "Thunderdome command center" is quite evident in the movie.

The film was edited after being threatened with an NC-17 rating for violence,[10] with the full version released unrated on Blu-ray.

Soundtrack

The score to Law Abiding Citizen was composed by Brian Tyler, who recorded his score with a 52-piece ensemble of the Hollywood Studio Symphony at the Sony Scoring Stage with help from Kieron Charlesworth.[11] The film also uses "Eminence Front" by The Who and "Engine No. 9" by Deftones on Clyde's iPod while he is eating his steak in his cell. While Clyde calls Darby to help him 'escape' the police after Ames' execution, "Bloodline" by Slayer is Darby's ringer. The tune at the end for closing credits is "Sin's A Good Man's Brother" by Grand Funk Railroad.

Release

The film was released theatrically on October 16, 2009 in the United States.[12] The first theatrical trailer was released on August 14, 2009, and was attached to District 9.[13]

The premiere was held on November 15, 2009, at the Cineworld complex in Glasgow, Butler's home town. Many British tabloids labeled the event as the "Homecoming Premiere", in reference to the Homecoming Scotland 2009 celebrations.[14]

Reception

Box office

Law Abiding Citizen grossed $73.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $54.6 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $127.9 million.[2]

The film took second place in its opening weekend, with $21 million, behind Where the Wild Things Are. It went on to gross $126.6 million in total worldwide.[15]

Critical response

Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported 26% of 162 critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 4.4/10. The site's critical consensus states: "Unnecessarily violent and unflinchingly absurd, Law Abiding Citizen is plagued by subpar acting and a story that defies reason."[16] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 34 out of 100 based on 26 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[17]

In his review for the Chicago Sun Times, Roger Ebert said, "Law Abiding Citizen is the kind of movie you will like more at the time than in retrospect." He then went on to say, "Still, there's something to be said for a movie you like well enough at the time." Ebert rated the film 3 out of 4 stars.[18]

Sequel

In May 2022, it was announced that a standalone sequel is in development. Kurt Wimmer was hired to return in his role as screenwriter, while Gerard Butler will serve as producer alongside Alan Siegel, Lucas Foster, Rob Paris, and Mike Witherill. Foster stated in his returning role as a producer that the studios look forward to "revisit[ing] these great characters" stating that the premise "seems even more relevant today than when...the original film" released. The filmmaker stated: "We’re going to blow your mind… again." While the plot has not been revealed, Paris and Witherill jointly stated that the creatives involved, see the movie as a "franchise opportunit[y]." The project will be a joint-venture production between G-Base Productions, Rivulet Films, Warp Films, and Village Roadshow Pictures.[19]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Distribution: A Love Story". Screen Daily. 2009-10-08.
  2. 1 2 "Law Abiding Citizen (2009)". Box Office Mojo. IMDB. Retrieved 2010-04-23.
  3. ↑ "Law Abiding Citizen F. Gary Gray". Exclaim! - Canada's Authority on Music, Film and Entertainment. Law Abiding Citizen, easily the most massively entertaining action thriller since Taken.
  4. ↑ "Law abiding citizen". The Age. 28 January 2010. WHAT happens when the good guys start acting like the bad guys? That's the question posed in B-movie terms by F. Gary Gray's entertainingly silly action thriller starring Gerard Butler as the kind of twitchy yet high-minded nutcase who five years ago would undoubtedly have been played by Mel Gibson.
  5. ↑ "Law Abiding Citizen to be promoted on Xbox Live". Campaign. Law Abiding Citizen, an action thriller, will be promoted on Xbox Live this month in a three-week push brokered by specialist agency Target Media. The film is out on 27 November.
  6. ↑ "FOXX EARNS CITIZENSHIP WITH DARABONT". CHUD. Archived from the original on November 12, 2008. Retrieved October 9, 2008.
  7. ↑ "Shawshank's Frank Darabont Quit Law Abiding Citizen!!". Ain't It Cool News.
  8. ↑ "Viola Davis a 'Law Abiding Citizen'". Variety. January 29, 2009.
  9. ↑ Elijah, Andy. "Philly Flix: Law Abiding Citizen". www.cinedelphia.com. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  10. ↑ "Law Abiding Citizen - Gerard Butler interview". IndieLondon. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  11. ↑ Dan Goldwasser (September 11, 2009). "Brian Tyler scores Law Abiding Citizen". ScoringSessions.com. Retrieved September 11, 2009.
  12. ↑ "Exclusive Clip, Contest for LAW ABIDING CITIZEN!". Fangoria.com. Archived from the original on 2009-10-16. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
  13. ↑ "Law Abiding Citizen - Trailer". The Film Stage. Archived from the original on 2010-01-13. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
  14. ↑ Dingwall, John (6 November 2009). "Exclusive: Scots star Gerard Butler ready for homecoming premiere - and hitting 40". The Daily Record. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
  15. ↑ "Law Abiding Citizen (2009)". Box Office Mojo. 4 February 2010. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
  16. ↑ "Law Abiding Citizen (2009)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  17. ↑ "Law Abiding Citizen Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  18. ↑ Ebert, Roger (October 14, 2009). "Law Abiding Citizen". Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago, Illinois: Sun-Times Media Group.
  19. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 21, 2022). "'Law Abiding Citizen' Sequel In The Works With Village Roadshow & Rivulet Films". Deadline. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
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