Man, Law Abiding Citizen is one of those movies that really makes you question the judiciary system. When I first watched it, I wasn’t expecting it to be so intense. It starts off like a typical revenge game, but then it flips the whole game upside down.
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The main character, Clyde Shelton (played by Gerard Butler), is honestly one of the most fascinating villains I’ve seen in a while. But even calling him a villain feels unfair, because at first, you totally understand where he’s coming from. His wife and daughter are brutally murdered. Clyde snapped. And honestly, who wouldn’t? His pain feels real. You’re kind of rooting for him at first.
Then there’s Nick Rice (played by Jamie Foxx), the prosecutor who made that deal. He's not a bad guy. He's just someone who believes in playing by the rules and doing whatever it takes to win cases, even if that means compromising justice sometimes.
What makes the movie do intriguing was the chess game between Clyde and Nick. Clyde is always one step ahead, and the way he plans things from prison is just wild. You start thinking, “How is he doing all this?!” It gets to a point where it’s not even about revenge anymore, it’s about making a statement. He's trying to prove how broken the justice system is, and the lengths he goes to are extreme, but very effective.
I actually became confused at a point. Like, should we sympathize with Clyde because of what happened to his family? Or does he go too far and become the very monster he was trying to punish?. It’s not just action and explosions, it actually makes you think.
The ending hit hard too. Without spoiling anything, it’s not your normal Hollywood wrap up. It leaves you thinking about justice, revenge, and whether the system is really designed to protect the innocent.
Images were taken as screenshots from the movie