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.
Law Abiding Citizen is a "luridly enjoyable" movie, said Steve Persall in the St. Petersburg Times, and it's "chock full of nutzoid behavior and graphic violence." Gray knows that this film's "trump card" is "ruthlessness" and he "plays it throughout"—he even managed to figure out when too much talk would slow down the action. "You may wish to take a shower" after seeing this gory thriller, "but for two hours dirty feels kind of fun."
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