Sunday, June 26, 2016

Trash Bin: LAW ABIDING CITIZEN


Welcome to another installment of the TRASH BIN, where we watch the worst movies Hollywood has to offer, according to the critics, and give you our thoughts, good or bad. This week we take a look at the seventh installment in director F. Gary Gray's career...LAW ABIDING CITIZEN.

Law Abiding Citizen is a film that doesn't seem to be enjoyed by critics (25% critic score on RT), but the general movie audience had a very fun time watching (75% audience score), and I can't say I disagree with the audience here. The critics make several good points in some of the reviews I've read, but none of their criticism is enough to ruin the overall enjoyment of the film. Let's get right into it.

First off, if there's anything F. Gary Gray is seeming to become known for it's making bad movies. But I think he get's a bad wrap as a director. Friday is hilarious, The Italian Job isn't a bad action movie, this film is solid as well, and Straight Outta Compton is an immensely enjoyable biopic. F. Gary Gray doesn't really have a very specific visual style, and the stories he chooses definitely don't hold a lot of similarities which leads us to believe that he just likes making movies. Honestly we need more of this, not an overwhelming amount of it but a certain amount of directors whose primary focus is just to create entertainment for an audience. F. Gary Gray is the master of creating enjoyment on screen and he doesn't seem to care what the critics think as long as the audience enjoys his movies, and there's nothing wrong with that. But now, onto the movie.

Law Abiding Citizen revolves around the character Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) and a horrible incident in his life. After Clyde's wife and daughter are both raped and murdered, it is his mission to murder everyone responsible/involved with this horrific incident. When lawyer Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx) cannot get the man responsible for the murder/rape a longer sentence, Clyde purposely gets himself arrested after killing the man responsible so he can continue killing people involved. The film revolves around how Clyde manages to get out of his cell and even solitary confinement to continue committing these murders. The entire film builds and builds keeping us in suspense the entire time, just continuously wondering how Clyde is pulling these off. This set up makes for a very enjoyable thriller that keeps you guessing, but also continues to make your jaw drop at how brutal some of the murders are.

Technically, nothing is outstanding about the movie. Nothing truly stands out and makes the movie better than it is. It's very solid, but the technological lacking prevents it from being great. But as I stated earlier I believe that's a product of F. Gary Gray just enjoying making the movies. The writing is very well driven and very well delivered. It's no Sorkin or Schrader script, but it's a very enjoyable screenplay.

Law Abiding Citizen is a very enjoyable thriller with a lot of twists and turns that preys on the human condition of getting revenge and if in certain scenarios if murder is justified. "It's not what you know, it's what you can prove in court." The film has a few duds as far as the technology goes, but as for the story, the acting, and the screenplay; the film is very enjoyable and very well done.


Joshua's Score: 8/10

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