Law Abiding Citizen

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2:25

Law Abiding Citizen

R

2009

1h 48m

Mystery & Thriller

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

26%

Tomatometer

161 Reviews

75%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

Clyde Shelton is an honorable family man, until the day his wife and daughter are murdered in a home invasion. He hopes for justice, but a rising prosecutor named Nick Rice cuts a deal with one of the killers in exchange for testimony. Ten years later, that man is found dead.

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Critics Consensus

Unnecessarily violent and unflinchingly absurd, Law Abiding Citizen is plagued by subpar acting and a story that defies reason.

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Keith Uhlich

Time Out

01/06/2021

2/5

It's basically Saw with Gerard Butler as Jigsaw, which means he's as righteous of body as he is of mind.

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Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

09/12/2017

B+

There were surprises, twists and turns and could get graphic at times, but overall the movie was fast-paced, well performed, and kept your attention until the very end.

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Giles Hardie

Sydney Morning Herald

01/30/2010

4/5

For large portions of Law Abiding Citizen we're not sure who is going to be the winner here, nor who we want to be, and though it won't make for much of a date flick, as far as intelligent action flicks go, it gets two big burly thumbs up.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Nov 13

1.5/4

A gruesome melodrama that, too afraid to tackle the issues it brings up, instead elects to transform into a ridiculous thriller about a psychopath terrorizing a city.

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Jeff Beck

The Blu Spot

07/09/2025

3/5

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.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

08/30/2023

2/4

Filled with equal parts bloody carnage and plot holes, this vigilante yarn, more concerned with explosions and bloodletting than voicing its potential social commentary, unravels into a disorganized tangle

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Michael P

@TheeMichael-jai 5d

The violence usually means something, but here it is contrived and exaggerated, ruining a fair point.

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Eric S

@PeachWolfer365 Jul 18

Don’t watch if you are sensitive to stupid, unrealistic hyper-violence, especially the kind involving the SA and killing of young children. The special effects are good though. Other than the special effects this movie is worthless, I would even say that it has a deficit of value. If I could give it a -5 stars I would. My advice- don’t watch it. It’s garbage and watching it has ruined my ability to appreciate anything good about Gerard Butler and the same is true for Jamie Fox.

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Kirstie W

@KLoves Jul 11

Heartbreaking movie. So good.

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Wallef S

@Wsil10 Jul 9

Filme quase perfeito, exceto pelo final. Achei frustrante e sem sentido Clyde ter morrido daquela maneira.

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Riley G.

@RT51171278 Jun 23

Solid 65, how this got a 26 I do not know. I would rather watch this than some of the other slop that has come out in the last 5 years or so.

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KarthiK P.

@madkarthi Jun 17

I think this was an amazing film to see. It is a totally badass oneperson army type of thriller. The movie is a super fastpaced action flick packed with pure revenge and clever mind games. While watching this film I was constantly thinking about the movie Mersal. Seriously what kinda man you are Atlee??? It is totally visible that the entire core plot was completely copied by Atlee for his movie. The idea of a protagonist getting intentionally arrested just to systematically take down the corrupt system from inside the prison cells is exactly the same. But whatever the copies are out there I really enjoyed this original film so much. Gerard Butler's ruthless character and the intense pacing make it an absolute blast to watch from start to finish.

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F. Gary Gray

Director

Jamie Foxx

Nick Rice

Gerard Butler

Clyde Shelton

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Det. Dunnigan

Bruce McGill

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Law Abiding Citizen: Trailer 1

2:25

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Synopsis

Clyde Shelton is an honorable family man, until the day his wife and daughter are murdered in a home invasion. He hopes for justice, but a rising prosecutor named Nick Rice cuts a deal with one of the killers in exchange for testimony. Ten years later, that man is found dead.

Director: F. Gary Gray
Producer: Lucas Foster, Gerard Butler, Alan Siegel, Mark Gill, Kurt Wimmer, Robert Katz
Screenwriter: Kurt Wimmer
Distributor: Overture Films
Production Co: Warp Films
Rating: R (Rape|Pervasive Language|Strong Bloody Brutal Violence|Torture)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 16, 2009, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 5, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $73.3M
Runtime: 1h 48m