Law Abiding Citizen

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  • Opened October 16, 2009 
  • 1 hr 48 min
  • R | strong bloody brutal violence and torture, a scene of rape, and pervasive language
  • Parents: Common Sense Media says not for kids. More on child suitability

  • Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) is an upstanding family man whose wife and daughter are brutally murdered during a home invasion. When the killers are caught, Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx), 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. Full synopsis

  • Cast: Jamie Foxx, Gerard Butler, Colm Meaney, Bruce McGill, Leslie Bibb
  • Director: F. Gary Gray
  • Genres: Suspense/Thriller

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Critics say No
34 out of 100
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Muy buena pelicula y libreto excelente!!...

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Critic Reviews

75
Chicago Sun-Times
| Roger Ebert

One of those movies you like more at the time than in retrospect. Read full review

70
The Hollywood Reporter
| Kirk Honeycutt

The script does create sufficient tension and intrigue to hook viewers along with a photogenic, hardworking cast. Read full review

63
Philadelphia Inquirer
| Steven Rea

That the film, directed in swift strokes by F. Gary Gray from a screenplay credited to Kurt Wimmer, doesn't really work - unrelentingly grim, unintentionally funny - is almost beside the point. It's a wild concept. Read full review

50
USA Today
| Claudia Puig

Deep within Law Abiding Citizen lurks a thought-provoking movie. But most of what we see on the screen is implausible, superficial and only marginally involving. Read full review

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Gerard Butler in "Law Abiding Citizen."