Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler: 'Law Abiding Citizen'

Is this new 'revenge thriller 'luridly enjoyable' or 'appallingly violent'?

Law Abiding Citizen is a "hapless crime drama about outrage and revenge," said John Anderson in Newsday. Starring Jamie Foxx as a prosecutor up against a criminal mastermind (Gerard Butler) who seeks vigilante justice for the murders of his family, this "appallingly violent" movie is filled with "plot holes, preposterous procedures and impotent gestures." Both Foxx and Butler give "self-satisfied" performances, and the film is "far less intelligent" than it thinks it is (watch the trailer for Law Abiding Citizen).

Sure, some aspects of Law Abiding Citizen's plot are "preposterous," said Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times. But director F. Gary Gray proves that he is "able to generate considerable suspense and a sense of dread," and Foxx and Butler are a "well-matched pair" in this moderately pleasurable film.

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