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The film crew that had Philly running for the makeup room last winter spilled out a decent thriller after all.
Today, many will see director F. Gary Gray debut "Law Abiding Citizen" at the Philadelphia International Film Festival, one night before it opens in theaters for the masses. The film throws in plenty of chest-stabbing and blood-squirting while keeping the plot fast-paced — and it’s one that will catch you off-guard.
Family man Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) is forced to watch his wife and daughter slaughtered during a break-in. Once the killers are arrested and the case brought to court, hot-shot prosecutor Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx) lets the murderer (Christian Stolte) off with three years in exchange for testimony against his accomplice. A decade later, Shelton finds his own justice by taking out key players in his family’s case — from behind bars.
Butler and Foxx handle their roles perfectly, playing off each other for maximum effect. Butler serves it cold, bitter and emotionally empty, while Foxx keeps Rice’s attitude towards this as stubborn as the law. Some of the dialogue between the two becomes predictable mid-way, which slows the film’s pace a bit, but the likeable supporting characters make up for this, as they shell out life-like conversations and snappy one-liners.
Annie Corley, who plays Judge Laura Burch, uses her experience from smaller roles in television crime dramas to break up tense scenes with quick comic relief. Colm Meaney’s Detective Dunnigan is what the audience would expect from a seasoned cop — sarcasm while dealing with life-and-death situations.
Although "Law Abiding Citizen" may not become the Oscar-winning emblem of the city like "Rocky," Philly now can add hosting this fast-paced, well-acted thriller to its list of achievements.
Law Abiding Citizen
R
Three reels out of four
In area theaters tomorrow
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
PG-13
Available Tuesday
The cast from the original, 2007’s "Transformers," returns for the sequel "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," which was simultaneously one of the biggest hits and one of the most poorly reviewed movies of the year ("Too much meets the eye," June 25).
The Decepticons return to Earth to capture now-college student Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) after he discovers the Transformers’ origins. The Autobots and their human allies fly in to save Sam and Earth.
