Not your bog standard run of the mill psychological thriller
Gerard Butler has come a long way from Paisley in Scotland to become one of Hollywood's most bankable stars and he delivers in this taut as a razor wire thriller about justice and revenge.
Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) is a regular family man whose wife and daughter are brutally murdered during a violent burglary.
When the killers are finally brought to justice, Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx), an ambitious young Philadelphia lawyer is assigned to the case.
Despite his objections, Rice is forced by his boss to offer one of the suspects a more lenient sentence in exchange for testifying against his accomplice.
Cut and dissolve to 10 years later.
The man who got away with murder is found dead and Shelton admits his guilt: then he coolly and calmly informs Nick — either fix the flawed justice system that failed his family or all the key players in the murder trial of his family will die.
Soon Shelton delivers on his threats, orchestrating from his jail cell a string of spectacularly inventive killings that can neither be predicted nor prevented.
Philadelphia is gripped with fear as Shelton's high-profile targets are brutally murdered one after another and the city authorities are powerless to halt his reign of terror and mayhem.
Only Rice can stop the killing and to do so he must outwit this brilliant sociopath in a harrowing contest of wills in which even the smallest mistake means death.
With his own family now in Shelton's sights, Rice finds himself in a desperate race against time facing a cunning adversary who seems always to be one step ahead of the game.
This is not your bog standard run of the mill psychological thriller and Butler told me: "In a lot of ways, it's completely unexpected. You know right from the start that horrific events take place and you're completely with one character. It is a very intense, scary story, yet at the same time you end up with empathy and emotion for both characters."
In many ways the pursuit of justice drives both characters in the movie and that is what is so appealing about it — you feel emotionally involved in both principal characters yet I strangely felt more sympathy for Butler who was wronged by the justice system initially and then relentlessly extracts his revenge in highly inventive ways.
Of course the central premise of the story is ludicrously far fetched but that's what makes it such an entertaining and engaging cinema experience.
Law Abiding Citizen, certificate 18, is what going to the cinema is all about — get a big bucket of pop corn, a soft drink and just enjoy the ride.
It is a non stop rollercoaster of action, thrills, twists and turns.
A truly guilty pleasure which I highly recommend — enjoy.
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