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Law Abiding Citizen (2009)

R  |   |  Crime, Drama, Thriller  |  16 October 2009 (USA)
7.4
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Ratings: 7.4/10 from 202,223 users   Metascore: 34/100
Reviews: 423 user | 212 critic | 26 from Metacritic.com

A frustrated man decides to take justice into his own hands after a plea bargain sets one of his family's killers free. He targets not only the killer but also the district attorney and others involved in the deal.

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Director: Guy Ritchie
Stars: Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Idris Elba
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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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Emerald-Angel Young ...
Denise Rice (as Emerald Angel Young)
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Rupert Ames (as Joshua Stewart)
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Storyline

Clyde Shelton's family is brutally murdered. The ones responsible are caught. However, because of improper procedure, the D.A., Nick Rice only has circumstantial evidence. So he decides to get one of them to testify against the other. When Shelton learns of this, he is not happy. Ten years later, the one who was convicted is being executed but something goes wrong; his execution goes awry and he suffers. They learn that someone tampered with the machine. And the other one is found dead, killed in a gruesome manner. Rice suspects Shelton, so he has him picked up. At first, Shelton agrees to a plea agreement with Rice but changes his mind. It appears that Shelton is not done, it appears he blames the whole system and is declaring war on it going after everyone involved with his family's case. So Rice has to stop him but Shelton is way ahead of him. Written by rcs0411@yahoo.com

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

How do you stop a killer who is already behind bars? See more »

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong bloody brutal violence and torture, a scene of rape, and pervasive language | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

16 October 2009 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Días de ira  »

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$21,039,502 (USA) (16 October 2009)

Gross:

$73,343,413 (USA) (29 January 2010)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

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Color:

(Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
See  »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Catherine Zeta-Jones was considered for the role of Mayor April Henry. See more »

Goofs

One scene shows a car with Nick going north on I-95 over the Girard Point Bridge, but he was previously in Center City, which is well north of that point on the highway. See more »

Quotes

[from trailer]
Nick Rice: You end this!
Clyde Shelton: [smiles] I'm just gettin' warmed up.
See more »

Connections

Featured in Live from Studio Five: Episode #1.52 (2009) See more »

Soundtracks

Eminence Front
Written by Pete Townshend
Performed by The Who
Courtesy of Polydor Records Ltd./Geffen Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
Like a great relationship gone bad
27 February 2011 | by (United States) – See all my reviews

This reminds me of the start of a great relationship, starts out wonderful, continues to grow, and then out of nowhere, BAM, it ends and you are left wondering what just happened.

As so many other reviewers have stated, it starts out with great suspense, originality, and creativity, and somewhere in the last 20 minutes, you are left wondering, did it really just end that way? Ouch! I found myself incredibly disappointed.

We all love Jaime Foxx's funny side, but really wanted to see something else happen to him in this film. I get the idea of the end, that he learned his lesson so to speak, but it was still really weak for what it could have been.

However, I'll still give it an 8 as it kept me quite intrigued throughout...so hard to find these days in a quality film.


20 of 29 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

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To All Of You Complaining About ksgirl81
Couldve been a great movie if... ovallejr09
Why the ending was disappointing mauness
Not even remotely possible....ptp wanderin
HIGHLY DISAPPOINTING Ilovemusic1
Did Nick and Sara have an affair? rllmm-1
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