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Law Abiding Citizen (R, 2009)

common sense media says

Violent vengeance thriller has lots of bloody brutality.

parents & educators say
  • 40% say violence is an issue
  • 40% say language is an issue
See all 19 reviews | Review it

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Law Abiding Citizen contains several scenes of extremely bloody violence -- in addition to the home invasion/robbery/attempted rape/murder sequence that it begins with, there's a brutal stabbing and a horrifying torture scene in which a chemically paralyzed man is strapped to a gurney and has his limbs and organs sliced off. Viewers don't see the actual slicing, but they do see the man's limbless, mutilated corpse, and some of the crueler acts are discussed at length. The matter-of-fact nature of the brutal scenes is particularly disquieting. There's also plenty of strong language, some sexual content (including partial nudity), drinking, and drug use.

Positive messages: The plot's more philosophical points about the problems of the legal system are drowned out by its murders and gory violence.
Positive role models: Clyde is a grief-stricken man on a brutal terrorist campaign of revenge; Nick is a career lawyer who, at first is more interested in his conviction rate than in fighting to uphold the letter of the law.
Violence: Scenes of torture; also scenes in which a young child watches the torture on DVD. An attempted rape, which is called off in order to commit murder. A lethal injection is deliberately engineered to cause agony. Scenes of stabbing, shooting, beatings, and bombs going off -- both large incendiary devices and small, hand-held deathtraps. In one bloody, brutal, and shocking scene, a man is stabbed with a sharp object repeatedly in the jugular, with copious amounts of blood. Scenes of bloody corpses as well as people paralyzed by shellfish venom.
Sex: Nude male and female buttocks. Discussions of sex acts in vulgar language.
Language: Frequent strong language, including "f--k," "motherf--ker," "balls," "prick," "ass," "piss," "s--t," "bitch," "a--hole," "damn," "hell," "Jesus Christ," and more.
Consumerism: Very few brands are shown/talked about, but Pepsi products are seen, and iPod is mentioned by name.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Cocaine use is shown; characters drink beer, wine, and liquor.
Our ratings and reviews are informed by child development guidelines. Learn more.

More on Law Abiding Citizen

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
  • Families can talk about the movie's violence. How does the impact of the violence here compare to that of "torture porn" horror movies like Saw? Which is more upsetting, and why?
  • Where's the line between vigilante justice and cold-blooded murder? Are we supposed to admire Clyde when he kills criminals, but not when he kills people at the district attorney's office?
  • What's the difference between "justice" and "law"? Do plea bargains and other deals keep the mechanism of justice tunning smoothly or divert it from its true intent?

What's the story?

What's the story?
In Philadelphia, thugs invade the home of engineer Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler), killing his wife and daughter. Ambitious prosecutor Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx), worried about his conviction record -- and the possibility of the killers walking -- cuts a deal that earns one criminal the death penalty and another a light three-year sentence. Ten years later, starting with the lethal injection of the sentenced criminal, Clyde is waiting with a plan to punish the guilty -- and the lawyers and judges who let the deal happen. Can Nick unravel Clyde's deadly plan before his own life is forfeit in the name of justice?

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 

Ludicrous and over pumped, LAW ABIDING CITIZEN is an overdone thriller that also has some real shocks and a couple of nasty surprises. Director F. Gary Gray (The Italian Job, The Negotiator) has the flash and enthusiasm to make this kind of film and the other diversions that have made up his career, but watching him flail for deeper meaning and social commentary is a bit of a strain. Foxx is decent and tortured; Butler is an appropriately regretful sociopath until the film's third act, when he has to kick the homicide up a notch to drive the film toward its climax.

As a new-millennium spin on films like Death Wish or Taxi Driver, Law Abiding Citizen works well when it keeps to the simple kinetic energy of the action; Clyde's machinations are just one step removed from the four-color outlandishness of a comic book evil genius. Gray assembles the bits and pieces of Kurt Wimmer's script with competent mechanics, but he falters when he tries to connect the action set pieces with a plot that makes sense or doesn't kick against the limits of plausibility. Law Abiding Citizen has its moments, but those moments don't have a movie. 

Movie themes & details

Movie Details
Studio: Overture Films
Director: F. Gary Gray
Cast: Colm Meaney, Gerard Butler, Jamie Foxx
Genre: Thriller
Run time: 102 minutes
Theatrical release: October 16, 2009
DVD release: February 16, 2010
MPAA Rating: R
MPAA explanation: strong bloody brutal violence and torture, a scene of rape, and pervasive language
This review was written by James Rocchi
 
 

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What parents & educators say

15
Based on 10 parent & educator reviews:
  • 40% say violence is an issue
  • 40% say language is an issue
Read the reviews

Most useful reviews by all members

Prototype79043
teen, 16 years old
16
 
Violent but good
A lot of violence to begin the movie
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helped me decide (9) | had useful details (9) | read my mind (11)
MikaylaaMadisonn
teen, 16 years old
12
 
Great movie with great acting!
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helped me decide (13) | had useful details (8) | read my mind (8)
4Spice
adult
17
 
good movie
good action movie worth buying not kids too much violence 17 and over strong language too i loved the movie
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helped me decide (7) | had useful details (9) | read my mind (12)
joshua martinez
adult
17
 
not for kids.
law abiding citizen is a thriller movie only for adults and parents you need to know that law abiding citizen is in extremely violent and bloody movie Clyde Shelton sends Nick Rice a tape for his daughter to watch and it shows how Clyde tortures his killer by cutting his arms, legs, head, torso, and organs which can be very disturbing to watch they also show Clyde daughter being raped by his killer also there is partial nudity and a fat girl showing her thong characters used a lot of strong language throughout the movie and characters drink beer, wine, and liquor and smoke Cocaine.
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xomakeupxo
adult
16
 
good movie for adults
It was a good movie for adults not for children. I thought it had an interesting plot. If you like action this would be a good one to see. There was a lot of violence, language, and one scene had a women laying in bed wearing a thong. The message was kind of good kind of bad it could go anyway depending on how you look at it.
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dreamer16
teen, 16 years old
15
 
I personally enjoyed it, although i looked away in the beginning out of spite. The story is good if like psychological thrillers and Gerard Butler. There is some nudity and cussing, but nothing very OMG-ish. Yes, there is a lot of violence so younger kids really should stay away. But it's a good movie and Gerard Butler did a great job.
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DJLazz
adult
17
 
Common sense says...
This movie is what it is said to be in the trailer, "A RATED 'R' VENGEANCE MOVIE WITH LOTS OF EXPLOSIONS AND KILLING". Why does everyone STILL feel the need to write about how it's not appropriate for children? It's rated 'R'! Take it for what it is.
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helped me decide (8) | had useful details (10) | read my mind (9)
SLUMDOG
teen, 14 years old
16
 
the lessons of death wish have been learned
the film is good suprise peolpe are destroying this film. why because they see a sloppy vengeance film i see a decent violent and interesting thriller whose main flaw is it drags on the last about half-hour. gerqard butler does not act very well but he suites this roll very well and jamie foxx as aslways is fantastic.the plot makes fo an interesting film. but the reason the film works is because it follws the 5 rules rule 1 the main character must have nothing tol lose. rule 2 the must be some awesome action sequence. rule 3 you must have agood leading man rule 4 there must be a moral. anyone who likes vengeance film will enjoy the film grade B
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helped me decide (11) | had useful details (6) | read my mind (9)
REDSOX101
adult
13
 
Butler Wins
Gerard Butler is professor tough guy! He did a fabulous job in this film. Jamie Foxx was a little off, but he did fine. The idea to this film was great, but they screwed up the end. Won't give away anything but they screwed up. I reccommend this movie to any action movie lover.
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helped me decide (9) | had useful details (9) | read my mind (6)
ConcernedFather43
parent of 6 and 6 year old
2
 
Great For Families and Young Children Of All Ages
I Love this movie and have shown it to both by 5 year old daughters to teach them about corruption and tyranny. Great learning movie!
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Chanc
parent of 3 and 5 year old
17
 
Good for 18+ out of the house young adults and older.
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bradley4846
teen, 17 years old
16
 
Surprisingly Great
I got this for my birthday. I forgot about it. So tonight i was bored and decided to watch it. It was great. Yes it was violent, but look at the rating and tell me what it says. The language consisted of mostly f***. There is some nudity (male behind). But its not to bad
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helped me decide (6) | had useful details (8) | read my mind (8)
Plague
parent
13
 
Law Abiding Citizen
I saw this about a month ago and I have always been impressed by Gerald Butler's acting. Pumped full of action with a few twists and turns here and there. One of the greatest flicks i've seen so far in 2009.
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Ty3401
adult
17
 
It was okay
I gave this movie four stars but it probably only deserves 3 and a half. I felt like it was missing something at the end. I felt like the attorney didn't learn his lesson and that it ended in an unpleasing way to the audience. I liked it no doubt, but it could have been better. It had a lot of vigilante violence, so be prepared if you go to see it.
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Entropy
teen, 15 years old
14
 
Very, Violent. But truly a excellent movie!
Great Film! A very intriguing plot, with perfect execution! It's suspense, horrifying and thrilling. All at the same time!
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helped me decide (6) | had useful details (8) | read my mind (8)
mzpooh
parent of 3 year old
17
 
i think that movie is so good because jamie foxx did his best on the job try 2 give the man wat he want it and it crazy how the man was in jail and killing them people
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kidsrocks
teen, 14 years old
12
 
i think that if your kids can deal with cars blowing up people getting shot and the drama of the family being killed. if your kids can deal with this you should let them see it. let them grow up.
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Cesch
teen, 14 years old
15
 
Great movie
This is an excellent movie that shows some of the corruption of the legal system. Contains intense graphic violence with blood and a scene of torture that was filmed and then shown to a little girl. Around 20+ uses of f**k, some s**t. The entire movie has an extremely intense feel to it. I loved it.
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slasher23
teen, 16 years old
17
 
Brutal
violent
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