Westside Steve Posted October 20, 2009 Report Share Posted October 20, 2009 Law Abiding Citizen Overture R 108 min Warning: Spoiler alert. Don’t read this until after you see it. It seems that during times of social anxiety, when the bad guys sem to get all the breaks, that vigilante films do well. As the legal system turns violent criminals back out onto the streets at least we can fantasize about justice. Seriously if your loved one is attacked “who ya gonna” call, Charles Shumer or Charles Bronson? At any rate, I’m usually a big fan of the DIRTY HARRY, DEATH WISH kind of flicks. Not too deep, not too philosophical just some plain old venting of pent up aggression. It isn’t too complicated. You need bad guys, I mean really bad guys. No I don’t mean bank robbers, or jewel thieves or tax cheats, I mean child molesters rapists and murderers. This movie has ‘em. Two scumbags break into the home of engineer Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) then brutally rape and murder his wife and small child. I guarantee you’ll hate these mugs right off the bat. Next you need an incompetent or unethical or corrupt legal system that provides loopholes through which the aforementioned bad guys can escape retribution. Check. Jamie Foxx is Nick Rice a hot shot assistant DA who settles for an easy plea bargain instead of doing his best to send the two to the injection booth. You also need a LAW ABIDING CITIZEN who has been pushed beyond human limitation and takes the law into his own hands. That would be Clyde. Fast forward ten years when one of the hoodlums (the one framed by the false testimony of his partner, the actual murderer) is stretched out on the gurney about to be put mercifully to sleep when something unexpected happens. Someone has replaced the humane sleeping serum with, well, with something that burns like hell and causes prolonged agonizing death. Cool. It’s a lot rougher ride for bad guy number two who will spend his last few hours of life in one of the most gruesome scenes I can remember. Believe me, the entire audience was shuddering. DA Rice is sure Clyde’s the culprit, and now he finally wants justice but wait; it’s now time to play “let’s make a deal.” Our hero is some kind of mechanical wizard who has booby traps set up all over town. All Rice needs is to do the right thing and, to follow up on any deal he makes with Clyde so the killing spree will end. Too bad Rice’s duplicitous nature and vanity lead him to play little games that cost people their lives. This film is as exciting as any I’ve seen and Butler plays the perfect broken man turned killer. I was on the edge of my seat, that is until the director commits one of Westside Steve’s cardinal movie sins, i.e., pulling an ending out of their ass. Just as the plot became just a little too outrageous to suspend reality, Foxx and the cops stumble over a clue so bogus, so out of the air that even Scooby Doo writing team would balk at it. After an hour and a half of the season’s best suspense it all comes crashing down with one lame ass climax. Where the hell is Harlan Coben when you need him? This one went from an A to a C+ in about fifteen minutes. Damn! C+ WSS Email westsidesteve@aol.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombo Posted June 3, 2010 Report Share Posted June 3, 2010 Law Abiding Citizen Overture R 108 min Warning: Spoiler alert. Don’t read this until after you see it. It seems that during times of social anxiety, when the bad guys sem to get all the breaks, that vigilante films do well. As the legal system turns violent criminals back out onto the streets at least we can fantasize about justice. Seriously if your loved one is attacked “who ya gonna” call, Charles Shumer or Charles Bronson? At any rate, I’m usually a big fan of the DIRTY HARRY, DEATH WISH kind of flicks. Not too deep, not too philosophical just some plain old venting of pent up aggression. It isn’t too complicated. You need bad guys, I mean really bad guys. No I don’t mean bank robbers, or jewel thieves or tax cheats, I mean child molesters rapists and murderers. This movie has ‘em. Two scumbags break into the home of engineer Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) then brutally rape and murder his wife and small child. I guarantee you’ll hate these mugs right off the bat. Next you need an incompetent or unethical or corrupt legal system that provides loopholes through which the aforementioned bad guys can escape retribution. Check. Jamie Foxx is Nick Rice a hot shot assistant DA who settles for an easy plea bargain instead of doing his best to send the two to the injection booth. You also need a LAW ABIDING CITIZEN who has been pushed beyond human limitation and takes the law into his own hands. That would be Clyde. Fast forward ten years when one of the hoodlums (the one framed by the false testimony of his partner, the actual murderer) is stretched out on the gurney about to be put mercifully to sleep when something unexpected happens. Someone has replaced the humane sleeping serum with, well, with something that burns like hell and causes prolonged agonizing death. Cool. It’s a lot rougher ride for bad guy number two who will spend his last few hours of life in one of the most gruesome scenes I can remember. Believe me, the entire audience was shuddering. DA Rice is sure Clyde’s the culprit, and now he finally wants justice but wait; it’s now time to play “let’s make a deal.” Our hero is some kind of mechanical wizard who has booby traps set up all over town. All Rice needs is to do the right thing and, to follow up on any deal he makes with Clyde so the killing spree will end. Too bad Rice’s duplicitous nature and vanity lead him to play little games that cost people their lives. This film is as exciting as any I’ve seen and Butler plays the perfect broken man turned killer. I was on the edge of my seat, that is until the director commits one of Westside Steve’s cardinal movie sins, i.e., pulling an ending out of their ass. Just as the plot became just a little too outrageous to suspend reality, Foxx and the cops stumble over a clue so bogus, so out of the air that even Scooby Doo writing team would balk at it. After an hour and a half of the season’s best suspense it all comes crashing down with one lame ass climax. Where the hell is Harlan Coben when you need him? This one went from an A to a C+ in about fifteen minutes. Damn! C+ WSS Email westsidesteve@aol.com Saw this the other night, it was pretty entertaining, kept us on the edge of our seats throughout. Far-fetched? You-betcha. Couple hours of entertainment? Indeed. Zombo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.