Law Abiding Citizen: An Intriguing Action Thriller Ruined by an Absurd Reveal (4K/Blu-ray Steelbook)

The Film:

Director F. Gary Gray has had a rather fascinating career, delivering a number of popular films like "Friday," "Set It Off," "The Negotiator," and "Straight Outta Compton," but one entry in his filmography that doesn't seem to get that much attention is the 2009 action thriller "Law Abiding Citizen." Granted, it didn't get received very well, and it wasn't exactly a box office hit, though it did have its advocates, including famed film critic Roger Ebert, as well as a decent review from the prestigious Hollywood Reporter. The film recently celebrated its 15 anniversary, and this year, Lionsgate has decided to release a special edition 4K Steelbook, so let's go back and see if the film is actually worthy of more consideration or if its fate of being forgotten was what it truly deserved.

As the films opens, Clarence Darby (Christian Stolte) and Rupert Ames (Josh Stewart) invade the home of Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) and force him to watch as Darby murders his wife & daughter. Due to certain circumstances, prosecuting attorney Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx) is unable to pursue a conviction of Darby, but instead makes a deal with him to testify against his accomplice. This results in Ames getting convicted and sentenced to death, while Darby is given a lesser murder charge and a lighter sentence, leaving Clyde feeling betrayed by the broken justice system.

Ten years later, Ames' execution goes terribly wrong, resulting in him dying in agonizing pain, caused by someone switching out the chemicals. The evidence points to Darby, but he ends up getting captured by Clyde, who records himself killing his wife & daughter's murderer very slowly. The body is found on a property owned by Clyde, who is immediately picked up as the prime suspect. From here, it becomes a deadly game of cat & mouse as Clyde mysteriously continues to exact his revenge even while locked away in prison. Could he possibly have an accomplice, or is this CIA engineer just too smart for anyone to stop him from carrying out his master plan?

"Law Abiding Citizen" sets up a rather fascinating scenario in which a father & husband, who's undergone terrible tragedy, gets screwed over by a system that's supposed to provide justice for his loss, and feeling that he's been horribly betrayed, decides to take matters into his own hands. This brings with it an intriguing note of sympathy for his character, because, even though what he's doing is obviously wrong, you can't help but feel for this man who has lost so much and was then subsequently let down by a system that's supposed to help provide closure for people in his situation.

On top of this duality of mixed feelings, the scenario also sets up the compelling mystery of how Clyde is able to carry out his plans despite being incarcerated. Does he have someone assisting him? Did he somehow set all of this up before going in? Or is there perhaps another explanation as to how he's doing all of this? On that note, sadly this is where the film stumbles quite a bit, for the eventual solution that it presents is so utterly absurd & laughable that it ends up spoiling everything that came before it. Obviously I won't delve into it in detail, but their explanation is completely implausible for a number of reasons, consequently gutting much of the tension and replacing it with an unfortunate roll of the eyes.

What we end up with here is about two-thirds of a good film that's regrettably ruined by some poor writing in the third act. Had screenwriter Kurt Wimmer taken a little more time to come up with a more believable solution, then the film likely would've turned out just fine, but as it is, it just leaves you wondering how he thought anyone would buy into the explanation given. Ultimately, "Law Abiding Citizen" does have a lot to like about it, including its pair of well-matched leads, but it just goes to show how important third act reveals can be, because if the writer messes that up, then the entire thing can easily come tumbling down like a house of cards.

Video/Audio:

The Steelbook comes with the film on both 4K (2160p, UHD) and Blu-ray (1080p, HD) in 2.40:1 transfers of outstanding quality. The image remains perfectly sharp & clear throughout the entire duration, even in the darkest of scenes. Likewise, the Dolby Atmos & 5.1 Dolby TrueHD audio tracks are fantastic, giving you all of the dialogue, sound effects, and music in excellent quality. Overall, Lionsgate has done a marvelous job in both areas for this new steelbook release.

Special Features:

Audio Commentary with Producers Lucas Foster and Alan Siegel

The Justice of Law Abiding Citizen (6 Minutes): A featurette that has lawyers discussing the film.

Law in Black and White (15 Minutes): A behind the scenes look at the making of the film.

Preliminary Arguments - Visual Effects Progressions (5 Sequences, 7 Minutes)

Conclusion:

F. Gary Gray's "Law Abiding Citizen" sets up a rather riveting scenario which presents an antagonist that the audience can partially sympathize with and a compelling mystery that will have you guessing right up until the third act reveal. Sadly, this is where screenwriter Kurt Wimmer completely dropped the ball, delivering an absurd, laughable, and entirely implausible solution, ultimately spoiling everything that this intriguing action thriller had going for it.

Score: 3/5

Now available on 4K/Blu-ray Steelbook.

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