Wow...Gerard Butler is quickly becoming the new Samuel L. Jackson, appearing in or starring in every movie to come out. I think it's safe to say that King Leonidas is officially a superstar. This new flick 'Law Abiding Citizen' puts Butler in a new light as a sort of bad guy. Here's the rundown from Overture Films:
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.
Soon Shelton follows through on his threats, orchestrating from his jail cell a string of spectacularly diabolical assassinations that can be neither predicted nor prevented. Philadelphia is gripped with fear as Shelton’s high-profile targets are slain one after another and the authorities are powerless to halt his reign of terror. Only Nick can stop the killing, and to do so he must outwit this brilliant sociopath in a harrowing contest of wills in which even the smallest misstep means death. With his own family now in Shelton’s crosshairs, Nick finds himself in a desperate race against time facing a deadly adversary who seems always to be one step ahead.
I'm completly down with where this movie goes. That's not to say that I support or condone vigilante justice, but criminals like the one that starts this story off get off light everyday in our country thanks to a flawed justice system. I'll leave it at that, otherwise I see a political debate in my future, and that to me is just not a good time. I'm eagerly anticipating seeing how this movie handles Butler's character. Will we see him as a good guy forced to do bad things, or as someone that's just been pushed too far and is now batshit insane ala 'Falling Down'. Jamie Foxx can be hit or miss, and I'm not too sure seeing him in the role of a "hotshot prosecutor" but he did suprise me with his performance in 'Collateral' so we'll have to see how he does here. In any event this looks like one not to be missed, especially during the doldrums that are October and November at the cinema before the real push for Oscar contenders. Watch for 'Law Abiding Citizen' IN THEATRES OCTOBER 16th
