Law Abiding Citizen

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Clyde Shelton lives with his wife and daughter in Philadelphia when two burglars break into their home one night. Clyde is bound and gagged as he is forced to watch Clarence Darby rape and kill his wife. Rupert Ames, who only intended to steal, pleads with Darby to leave, but he stabs Clyde before raping and killing his daughter as well. Prosecutor Nick Rice is assigned to the case along with District Attorney Jonas Cantrell. Upon learning that the DNA evidence is inconclusive in linking Darby to the crime, Nick is unwilling to risk lowering his high conviction rate and agrees to a plea bargain. Clyde begs Nick not to make a deal with Darby, but he does so anyway, boldly claiming that it is a victory. Darby testifies against Ames, who is convicted of felony murder and is sentenced to death, while Darby pleads guilty to third-degree murder and serves only three years in prison before being released on parole. During a press conference, Darby thanks Nick for helping him and shakes his hand as Clyde watches from afar.

Ten years later, Ames expresses remorse for his role in the burglary, but maintains his innocence in the murders. Ames is executed via lethal injection, but the procedure goes awry and he unexpectedly dies screaming and writhing in pain. Nick and Cantrell, who witnessed the botched execution, learn that the drugs were replaced with an anticonvulsant. Meanwhile, Darby is warned by an anonymous caller that the police are coming and instructs him to flee his apartment and take an officer hostage. The officer is revealed to be Clyde in disguise, who intentionally lured Darby into a trap and had the real officer locked inside the trunk of the car. Darby attempts to shoot Clyde, but as he pulls the trigger, he is paralyzed with tetrodotoxin coated spikes hidden inside the handle. Clyde records himself torturing and killing Darby as he is strapped to a table. After Darby's dismembered remains are found inside an abandoned warehouse owned by Clyde, he is arrested as he locks eyes with Nick.

During his interrogation, Nick confronts Clyde for mailing a DVD copy of Darby's murder to Nick's daughter Denise. Clyde represents himself at his bail hearing, where Judge Laura Burch, who previously presided over Darby's plea deal, initially grants Clyde bail. When Clyde accuses Judge Burch of being too easily swayed by legal doctrine and willing to release a potential criminal, she holds him in contempt of court and has his bail denied. After Clyde gives his confession, he demands a steak lunch from Del Frisco's and his iPod be delivered to his prison cell at 1:00 p.m. in exchange for the location of Darby's lawyer, Bill Reynolds, who was reported missing by his wife three days earlier. Nick agrees to the deal, but after missing Clyde's deadline, Reynolds is found buried alive with a precisely-timed oxygen device strapped to him. Simultaneously, Clyde stabs his cellmate to death while eating his lunch, forcing him to be moved to solitary confinement.

Suspicious of Clyde's skills, Nick and Cantrell meet with Bray, a CIA contact who reveals that Clyde previously worked for the agency and specialized in unorthodox assassinations. Bray warns Nick and Cantrell that the only way to stop Clyde is to kill him. During a meeting, Nick and Cantrell persuade Judge Burch to temporarily suspend Clyde's civil rights. Judge Burch answers her cellphone, but she is killed by an explosive device hidden inside. When Nick confronts Clyde, he explains that the murders are not about revenge, but the failures of the criminal justice system. Clyde tells Nick that he will end the killings by 6:00 a.m. if he is released from prison and all charges against him are dropped. Nick takes precautionary measures instead, moving his entire legal team to an office at the prison to work throughout the night.

After Clyde's deadline passes without incident, Nick allows his team to go home. While walking to his car, six attorneys from Cantrell's office, including Nick's assistant, Sarah Lowell, are killed in car bombings. Consequently, Mayor April Henry assigns two security guards to protect both Nick and Cantrell. While leaving Sarah's funeral, Cantrell and the security guards are killed by a weaponized bomb disposal robot armed with automatic target recognition and a missile. Nick prepares to resign when Mayor Henry considers firing him, but she instead promotes him to acting District Attorney and puts the city in lockdown. After Nick learns that Clyde owns a building near the prison, he and Detective Dunnigan discover a tunnel inside that leads to a cache of guns, disguises, and other equipment below the solitary confinement cells, with secret entrances to each cell.

Nick realizes that Clyde intentionally sought solitary confinement, allowing him to leave the prison undetected. Clyde arrives disguised as a janitor at City Hall, where Mayor Henry is holding an emergency meeting, and passes through security. Nick and Dunnigan fail to find Clyde, but they discover a suitcase bomb loaded with napalm planted in the room below the meeting. When Clyde returns to his cell and finds Nick waiting for him, Clyde tries to make another deal, but Nick refuses, having finally learned his lesson. Nick unsuccessfully urges Clyde not to activate the bomb before leaving, but he hears the detonator beeping and discovers the bomb hidden underneath his bed. Clyde briefly smiles and sits down, holding and looking at his daughter's handmade bracelet as the bomb explodes. Nick, officially the District Attorney, joins his wife Kelly at Denise's cello recital, having previously failed to do so.

In addition, Viola Davis appears as the Mayor of Philadelphia.

Gerard Butler was initially signed on to play the prosecuting attorney, while Jamie Foxx was the criminal mastermind operating from inside prison,^[6] a reversal of their roles in the final version.

Frank Darabont was expected to direct the film, but he left the production due to creative differences with the producers.^[7]

Filming began on January 17, 2009, and took place in and around Philadelphia.^[8] Filming locations included Philadelphia's City Hall, Laurel Hill Cemetery^[9] and the now closed Holmesburg Prison. Holmesburg's "Thunderdome command center" is quite evident in the movie.

The film was edited after being threatened with an NC-17 rating for violence,^[10] with the full version released unrated on Blu-ray.

The score to Law Abiding Citizen was composed by Brian Tyler, who recorded his score with a 52-piece ensemble of the Hollywood Studio Symphony at the Sony Scoring Stage with help from Kieron Charlesworth.^[11] The film also uses "Eminence Front" by The Who and "Engine No. 9" by Deftones on Clyde's iPod while he is eating his steak in his cell. While Clyde calls Darby to help him 'escape' the police after Ames' execution, "Bloodline" by Slayer is Darby's ringer. The tune at the end for closing credits is "Sin's A Good Man's Brother" by Grand Funk Railroad.

The film was released theatrically on October 16, 2009, in the United States.^[12] The first theatrical trailer was released on August 14, 2009, and was attached to District 9.^[13]

The premiere was held on November 15, 2009, at the Cineworld complex in Glasgow, Butler's hometown. Many British tabloids labelled the event as the "Homecoming Premiere", about the Homecoming Scotland 2009 celebrations.^[14]

Box office

Law Abiding Citizen grossed $73.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $54.6 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $127.9 million.^[2]

The film took second place in its opening weekend, with $21 million, behind Where the Wild Things Are. It went on to gross $126.6 million in total worldwide.^[15]

Critical response

Law Abiding Citizen received generally negative reviews from critics, with many praising its premise and central performance while criticising its execution, logic and moral stance.

Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 26% of 162 critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 4.4/10. The site's critical consensus states: "Unnecessarily violent and unflinchingly absurd, Law Abiding Citizen is plagued by subpar acting and a story that defies reason."^[16] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 34 out of 100 based on 26 critics, indicating "generally unfavourable reviews".^[17]

In his review for the Chicago Sun Times, Roger Ebert said, "Law Abiding Citizen is the kind of movie you will like more at the time than in retrospect." He then went on to say, "Still, there's something to be said for a movie you like well enough at the time." Ebert rated the film three out of four stars.^[18]

In May 2022, it was announced that a standalone sequel was in development. Kurt Wimmer was hired to return to his role as screenwriter, while Gerard Butler will serve as producer alongside Alan Siegel, Lucas Foster, Rob Paris, and Mike Witherill. Foster stated in his returning role as a producer that the studios look forward to "revisit[ing] these great characters" stating that the premise "seems even more relevant today than when...the original film" was released. The filmmaker stated: "We’re going to blow your mind… again." While the plot has not been revealed, Paris and Witherill jointly stated that the creatives involved, see the movie as a "franchise opportunit[y]." The project will be a joint-venture production between G-Base Productions, Rivulet Films, Warp Films, and Village Roadshow Pictures.^[19]

• Vigilante film
• List of films featuring home invasions